{"id":193795,"date":"2025-10-06T18:25:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T18:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/193795\/"},"modified":"2025-10-06T18:25:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T18:25:18","slug":"israel-premier-tech-to-rename-and-rebrand-after-pro-palestine-protests-target-cycling-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/193795\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Premier-Tech to \u2018rename and rebrand\u2019 after pro-Palestine protests target cycling team"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel Premier-Tech has confirmed they will undergo a rebrand \u201caway from its current Israeli identity\u201d after multiple pro-Palestine protests were directed at the cycling team this season.<\/p>\n

As part of the identity change, co-owner Sylvan Adams \u2014 who refers to himself as the \u201cself appointed ambassador at large for the state of Israel\u201d \u2014 will also step back from his day-to-day involvement and \u201cwill no longer speak on behalf of the team\u201d. The move was called for a fortnight ago by title sponsor Premier Tech, who described<\/a> their situation with the team as \u201cno longer tenable\u201d while their bike sponsor Factor also told Cyclingnews<\/a> that \u201cwithout a name change, they won\u2019t continue\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team\u2019s owners and management have recognized the need for change,\u201d an IPT statement<\/a> read on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith steadfast commitment to our riders, staff, and valued partners, the decision has been made to rename and rebrand the team, moving away from its current Israeli identity. In sport, progress often requires sacrifice, and this step is essential to securing the future of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking ahead to the 2026 season, Sylvan Adams has chosen to step back from his day-to-day involvement and will no longer speak on behalf of the team, instead focusing on his role as President of the World Jewish Congress, Israel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cycling team, while not state-owned, has been the subject of multiple pro-Palestine protests this season, causing widespread disruption and three stages to be neutralised in the Vuelta a Espana due to safety concerns. IPT removed \u2018Israel\u2019 from their team\u2019s jerseys during the three-week race due to rider-safety concerns but it did not prevent the final stage finish and winners\u2019 ceremony from being cancelled later on for the same reasons.<\/p>\n

After the events of the Vuelta, the team had their invitation to participate in Saturday\u2019s Giro dell\u2019Emilia withdrawn by organisers and ahead of pro-Palestine protests in Italy \u2014 which drew more than one million people, per Reuters<\/a> \u2014 the team then dropped out of three other cycling races in the country this month (Coppa Bernocchi, Tre Valli Varesine, Gran Piemonte).<\/p>\n

The team statement said that their new identity \u201cwill be revealed soon\u201d but \u201cthe team will remain true to its founding promise: to develop cycling talent from around the world\u201d.<\/p>\n

IPT competed in Croatia\u2019s Cro Race last week, and are set to return to Italy for the prestigious one-day monument Il Lombardia on October 11.<\/p>\n

The full statement read: \u201cEleven years ago, the Cycling Academy team was founded with a vision of nurturing young talent from non-traditional cycling countries, including Israel, providing aspiring riders with a clear pathway to professional cycling.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past 11 years, the team, which evolved to Israel \u2013 Premier Tech four years ago, has experienced the highs and lows that come with professional sport, from the pure joy of seeing our riders win Tour de France stages to the challenge of relegation, and fighting back to the WorldTour. It is, and always has been, a sporting project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe team takes pride in its achievements on the road, but even more so in the culture it has built within. This culture has been the foundation that enabled the team to overcome the challenges of recent months, standing firmly behind our riders and staff during an incredibly difficult period. Throughout this time, the team\u2019s owners and management have recognized the need for change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith steadfast commitment to our riders, staff, and valued partners, the decision has been made to rename and rebrand the team, moving away from its current Israeli identity. In sport, progress often requires sacrifice, and this step is essential to securing the future of the team.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking ahead to the 2026 season, Sylvan Adams has chosen to step back from his day-to-day involvement and will no longer speak on behalf of the team, instead focusing on his role as President of the World Jewish Congress, Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough a new chapter awaits, one that will be revealed soon, the team will remain true to its founding promise: to develop cycling talent from around the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo our fans: thank you for your unwavering support throughout the years, and especially during these past few weeks. We look forward to continuing this journey together.\u201d<\/p>\n

(Photo: Anne-Christine Poujoulat\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel Premier-Tech has confirmed they will undergo a rebrand \u201caway from its current Israeli identity\u201d after multiple pro-Palestine…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":193796,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[569],"tags":[64,63,784,11880,85],"class_list":["post-193795","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-cycling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-cycling","tag-global-sports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193795","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=193795"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/193795\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/193796"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=193795"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=193795"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=193795"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}