There are currently “no plans” for Israel-Premier Tech to drop ‘Israel’ from its name next year, the under-fire team confirmed this morning, following reports in the Belgian press that the squad would be known simply as Premier Tech in 2026.
On Thursday night, Le Soir reported that references to Israel are expected to be removed from the team’s jersey and branding next season, in an apparent response to the protests against the squad’s ongoing participation in major cycling events amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
The claim was made as part of the newspaper’s report on the future of three-time Tour de France stage winner Biniam Girmay, with the Eritrean star appearing to have agreed a three-year deal with Israel-Premier Tech, which may start as soon as January 2026, depending on the progress of Intermarché-Wanty’s merger with fellow Belgian squad Lotto.
The report comes following months of speculation that Israel-Premier Tech – which has been the subject of an intense series of pro-Palestine protests at the Vuelta a España – is facing pressure from sponsors and other stakeholders within cycling to drop ‘Israel’ from its name.
However, this morning a spokesperson for the squad denied the latest reports in the Belgian press, telling road.cc that there are currently no plans to remove Israel’s name from its jerseys.
“I’m not sure where Le Soir got that from but it’s not true,” the spokesperson told road.cc. “At this stage, there are no plans to change the team name.”
The squad has previously denied reports that a name change is imminent, claiming that the team has “never been asked” by sponsors or race organisers to change its branding, while also insisting that there are no plans to alter the squad’s “longstanding identity as an Israeli-based team, open to all”.
Despite its current name and branding, the team is not state owned and is instead funded by Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, though they have received some funding from Israel’s ministry for tourism.
Adams – who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, encouraged US attacks on Iran in June, and called on Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza – has described the team as “ambassadors” for Israel and a means of promoting a “more realistic vision” of modern Israel.
That ambassadorial role has doubtlessly fuelled the growing number of protests against the team’s ongoing involvement at cycling’s biggest races, with things coming to a head this week at the Vuelta, where Wednesday’s stage in Bilbao was truncated following rowdy scenes and clashes between officials and pro-Palestine activists at the finish.
Despite those chaotic scenes in Bilbao, which followed other protesters running onto the road in front of the riders, Israel-Premier Tech has insisted it will continue racing at the Vuelta, claiming that “any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling”.
However, there have been reports that the team’s refusal to withdraw from the race has attracted criticism from their colleagues in the peloton, as well as the Vuelta’s organisers, who have raised concerns about the impact of Israel-Premier Tech’s ongoing participation on rider safety.
Speaking to reporters at the start of stage 12 in Laredo, Israel-Premier Tech sports director Daryl Impey publicly pointed the finger at Visma-Lease a Bike rider Matteo Jorgenson, claiming the American has been privately messaging the team’s riders on group chats and telling them to leave the race.
“We weren’t talking about whether we’re leaving or not – we’re going to Madrid,” the South African told Daniel Friebe and FloBikes, when asked whether the team had discussed its future at the Vuelta following the scenes in Bilbao.
“Maybe people are talking about it, but as a team we’re committed to going all the way to Madrid. The guys are alright, they’re focusing on the bike race. Obviously yesterday wasn’t a great day for us, but we got through that, and the team’s quite resilient at the moment.
“We’re just trying to focus on what we are, we’re a sports team, and we’re cracking on with it.”
Asked about whether any rival teams have expressed a preference for Israel-Premier Tech to leave the Vuelta, Impey said: “No, no team has come to us and said, ‘we think you should go home’. Everyone’s got their opinions, and a lot of them feel for us, there’s actually been a lot of support from the teams.
“There have also been some riders supporting, some riders feeling bad. But Jorgenson has been the most vocal in that CPA (riders’ union] group, he’s probably the guy who’s had the most to say. So, maybe you should ask Jorgenson what he thinks.
“We’re a sports team, we don’t mix politics. But obviously it’s got to a point for him, and he’s got a lot more to say.
“He’s been pretty vocal, messaging the guys to leave. I don’t know who made him king of the Vuelta, but maybe you should go ask him what he thinks.”
When told about Impey’s comments, a clearly unimpressed Jorgenson said: “Those statements were made in a private group chat among the riders, and I think it’s pretty inappropriate for him to say it publicly to the media. And I think it shows his standpoint quite clearly.
“I don’t have a comment to make on it, and I’ve already voiced my opinion in a situation where I’m able to and I can make an impact.
“I think sometimes cyclists are really in our own world and focused on our tasks, so we’re all sometimes annoyed when situations arise. And I’m just trying to encourage everyone to come out of that and realise the bigger situations and take some perspective.”
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza, Israel-Premier Tech – arguably one of the country’s most prominent sporting symbols, its name emblazoned across the riders’ jerseys – has increasingly been the focal point of demonstrations protesting its ongoing participation at cycling’s biggest races.
There were anti-Israel protests at the Giro d’Italia and Tour de France this year, both involving activists running onto the road in front of the riders, with the group behind the Tour protest accusing the race of being “complicit in genocide” and “helping restore the image of the Israeli colonial regime” by allowing Israel-Premier Tech to participate.
Former Israel-Premier Tech riders Alessandro De Marchi and Jakob Fuglsang have also publicly expressed their relief at no longer representing the team and wearing its logo in public.
Tensions have ratcheted up in recent weeks, especially at the Vuelta, where roadside protests, course invasions, and anti-Israel graffiti have become an almost daily occurrence.
During the race’s team time trial on stage five, a group of protesters blocked the road as Israel-Premier Tech approached, forcing the team to slow and some riders to come to a halt. And on Tuesday’s stage 10, anti-Israel demonstrators entered the course, causing Intermarché-Wanty’s Simone Petilli to crash.
Things came to a head on Wednesday in the Basque Country – a hotbed of pro-Palestine sentiment – as riders held a pre-stage meeting with race organisers to discuss the safety implications of the ongoing protests.
Before stage 11 had even officially started, a course invasion blocked the road, while two protesters later stood in front of the riders on the Alto del Vivero, forcing Tom Pidcock to duck under their banner stretched across the road.
Finally, rowdy scenes on the finishing straight in Bilbao – where items were thrown at the riders and activists attempted to push through the barriers, clashing with police and race officials – prompted the Vuelta organisers to cancel the planned stage finish in the city. No winner was declared and the times for the general classification were taken from 3km out, as riders were diverted to their team buses.
🔴Momentos de tensión en el desarrollo la etapa 11 de #LaVuelta25 en Bilbao
Los manifestantes en favor de Palestina intentan interrumpir la competición https://t.co/YG2YEjFBeX pic.twitter.com/9nYgnmOVVG
— RTVE Noticias (@rtvenoticias) September 3, 2025
Following the protests in Bilbao, the team issued a statement which, while upholding “everyone’s right to protest”, claimed that the behaviour of the Bilbao protesters, which they said compromised the safety of the peloton, was “not only dangerous, but counterproductive to their cause”.
“Israel-Premier Tech is a professional cycling team,” the squad, which boasts a sizeable British contingent and is represented by Jake Stewart and Ethan Vernon at the Vuelta, said in its statement.
“As such, the team remains committed to racing on at the Vuelta a España. Any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling not only for Israel-Premier Tech, but for all teams.”
21 thoughts on ““No plans” for Israel-Premier Tech to drop ‘Israel’ from name, as sports director blasts “King of the Vuelta” Matteo Jorgenson’s calls for squad to leave race following protests”
That’s cheeky of Impey to
That’s cheeky of Impey to leak a private chat while implying (or impey-ing) it was public commentary.
eniaessem wrote:
Where did he imply that it was public commentary? He said that Jorgensen had been the most vocal on the CPA group and that he had been directly messaging IPT riders telling them to leave the Vuelta. I don’t see any implication that it was public commentary and in any case, in my opinion at least, if Jorgensen has actually been telling other riders that they should leave the race then that sounds like bullying and intimidation on an Armstrong-esque level and deserves to be called out whether it was in public or in a private message. Nothing to do with the rights and wrongs of the Gaza conflict nor whether IPT should be allowed to race or not, it’s simply disgraceful for an influential rider from a top team to be telling other riders that they ought to quit a race.
If Jorgensen has been
If Jorgensen has been intimidating his riders, Impey has every right to out him.
“but they’re nothing to do
“but they’re nothing to do with Israeli government policy”
Imagine if it were Russia
Imagine if it were Russia-Premier Tech. Do you think they’d be allowed to have that name on display? Different set of rules for isr*el.
Toudou wrote:
UAE Premier Tech acceptable to you?
Ukraine is innocent, Hamas
Ukraine is innocent, Hamas are not.
You’re oversimplifying it.
Ukraine is innocent, yes very
Ukraine is innocent, yes very good.
Did they invade Russia? Duh.
Did they invade Russia? Duh.
Vo2Maxi wrote:
I couldn’t agree more. Hamas has 35% maximum support in Gaza, so can we agree that at least the 65% of those in Gaza who do not support Hamas but who have been killed in equal or greater numbers by Israel’s blitz on the area are innocent as well?
Hamas don’t give a damn about
Hamas don’t give a damn about their own people, they use them as human shields, even in and under hospitals and schools.
That’s the unfortunate reality.
Vo2Maxi wrote:
Another unfortunate reality is that 80% of the people killed in Gaza by Israel are not Hamas terrorists. Those aren’t figures from some liberal lefty wishy-washy organisation by the way, those are figures leaked from the IDF themselves. In the early days of the conflict there was a lot of talk about how Hamas were hiding beneath hospitals and schools et cetera, that excuse has become pretty hollow now considering Israel has pretty much razed Gaza to the ground. When you open fire on children queueing for water in the open air in an area that you have designated a safe zone, what’s the excuse for that? Were there Hamas terrorists hiding behind them?
Pretty shocked and disgusted
Pretty shocked and disgusted at Jorgensen. If you have something to say to other riders, don’t WhatsApp them, say it to their face. And these are professional riders with livelihoods and sporting ambitions. Imagine you’re in the 1972 Tour Jorgensen, US Postal or some other US team has happened two decades earlier and other riders are telling you to **** off because of Vietnam.
The genocide is happening NOW
The genocide is happening NOW. Not 20 years ago.
Let’s hope the Vuelta avoids
Let’s hope the Vuelta avoids the Basque Country for a few years, if this is how their people behave. Apparently the local government is openly hostile to IPT as well. It’s just not on.
Hell, why don’t we just ban
Hell, why don’t we just ban pro cycling. There have been demonstrations in a lot of countries.
I love your comment “… if this is how their people behave”. What’s wrong with the way they are behaving? Is it because they are not systematically killing children that disgusts you?
Grow up, these are
Grow up, these are SPORTSPEOPLE, doing their jobs.
They’re being endangered by these protesters, and we’ve also seen in this country how Palestine Action are Leftist nutters who are occasionally violent and damage our military installations and hardware. Nothing less than 5th Columnist rentamob who also turn up for Just Stop Oil and others.
Whataboutism at its finest.
Whataboutism at its finest. Just as a few years ago every discussion was won with ‘you’re racist’, now that the greatest cause for western compassionate liberals is Palestine, it’s ‘you support killing babies’. What’s next?
Israel is commiting a
Israel is commiting a genocide. Israel is killing Gazans – including babies by starvation, thirst, bullets, AI targeted drones, tanks, bombs and missiles. They confiscate baby formula at the check points. Israhell Premier Tech receive funds from the genocidal entity, via the Israeli tourist board and the Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, who called on Israel to “finish the job” in Gaza and described the team as “ambassadors” for Israel.
This is sports washing at it’s worst. We banned apartheid South Africa and Russia. Isreal should also be banned. If you think cycling is more important than preventing genocide you are mentaly sick IMHO. The Basques are a real cycling and moral nation, who know what it is like to be oppressed by a fascist regime.
IPT received no funding from
IPT received no funding from the Israeli tourist board this year afaik. The only Israeli sponsors are a couple of universities. So all you are left with is that they are owned by a Canadian Israeli you don’t like.
The Gazan genocide will continue whether IPT exists or not and you’d have to be stupid to visit Israel right now.
The only sportswashing is in your mind, presumably because railing against IPT lets you have the brief hint of a delusion that you personally can do anything for Gazan’s apart from send them some cash.
Your emotions as warranted, but using IPT as a outlet for them is pointless and childish. Time to grow up emotionally and deal with your frustrations another way.
jonnyvelo wrote:
Sports washing at its worst also means letting UAE and Bahrain directly sponsor cycling teams. Directly.