Israel-Premier Tech has commented on the fact it will not compete in Giro dell\u2019Emilia on Saturday after organizers withdrew the team\u2019s invitation, citing public safety concerns.<\/p>\n
The decision follows unrest at the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a earlier this month, where the squad faced pro-Palestinian protests opposing Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza. The Spanish race experienced several incidents, including the cancellation of the final stage after protesters entered part of the course.<\/p>\n
More disruptions feared<\/p>\n
Organizers fear similar disruptions could hit the city, after pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Milan on Monday coincided with a nationwide strike against Israel\u2019s conduct in Gaza.<\/p>\n
\u201cIsrael-Premier Tech has been informed that our invitation to the Giro dell\u2019Emilia has been withdrawn,\u201d the team said to the BBC<\/a>. \u201cThe organizers have cited security concerns linked to planned protests that threatened to disrupt the race. We find it extremely regrettable that threats of violence have disrupted our sport.\u201d<\/p>\n Race director Adriano Amici emphasized the decision was made with safety in mind, citing protection for \u201call athletes, technical staff and spectators.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n The Giro dell\u2019Emilia is a traditional autumn race finishing near Bologna\u2019s historic centre. According to the BBC<\/a>, it is a city known for its student population and history of left-wing activism. Local groups have recently announced potential protests targeting the event.<\/p>\n This week, the UCI reiterated that Israeli athletes remain welcome at its competitions despite calls for boycotts. Meanwhile, Israel-Premier Tech\u2019s title sponsor has suggested the team remove \u201cIsrael\u201d from its name. At the Grand Prix Cyclistes de Qu\u00e9bec et Montr\u00e9al, the team requested to be referred to as IPT. At the Vuelta, the team decided to remove the word \u201cIsrael\u201d from its jersey.<\/p>\n Additionally, the bike sponsor, Factor has made similar comments saying the team needs to rebrand in order to survive. The team is co-owned by Israeli \u2013 Canadian Sylvan Adams and registered in Israel. Although the State of Israel does not formally sponsor the team, there are 3 Israelis on the team and Adams has called himself the \u201cself-proclaimed ambassador of Israel<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n There are also several Canadians on the team\u2013including, in theory, Derek Gee. The Osgoode, Ont. rider sent a letter of termination on Aug. 9 for undisclosed reasons. In a statement, however, IPT says he is still under contract.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel-Premier Tech has commented on the fact it will not compete in Giro dell\u2019Emilia on Saturday after organizers…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":188174,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[445],"tags":[49,48,635,37378,94331,2619,43703,82,68674],"class_list":{"0":"post-188173","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-cycling","11":"tag-derek-gee","12":"tag-giro-dellemilia","13":"tag-israel-hamas-war","14":"tag-israel-premier-tech","15":"tag-sports","16":"tag-sylvan-adams"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/188174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}