{"id":124303,"date":"2025-09-09T03:55:11","date_gmt":"2025-09-09T03:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/124303\/"},"modified":"2025-09-09T03:55:11","modified_gmt":"2025-09-09T03:55:11","slug":"israel-premier-tech-drops-israel-from-la-vuelta-cycling-kit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/124303\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel\u2013Premier Tech drops \u2018Israel\u2019 from La Vuelta cycling kit"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel\u2013Premier Tech has removed its name from its cycling kit for the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, citing safety reasons after the race was targeted by pro-Palestine protesters.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While the team\u2019s kit previously had its name across the chest, the new kit simply has its sponsor logos and monogram.<\/p>\n

In a statement released on Saturday, Israel\u2013Premier Tech said it had changed its kit to keep its riders and the rest of the peloton safe in light of the \u201cdangerous\u201d nature of some of the protests.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIsrael\u2013Premier Tech has issued riders with team monogram-branded kit for the remainder of the race. The team name remains Israel\u2013Premier Tech but the monogram kit now aligns with the branding decisions we have previously adopted for our vehicles and casual clothing,\u201d the team said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The BDS Movement called for protests<\/a> at this year\u2019s Grand Tours in April against the participation of Israel\u2013Premier Tech. The team is co-owned by Canadian\u2013Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, who is a vocal supporter of Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While there were demonstrations at the Giro d\u2019Italia and the Tour de France, there have been more prominent demonstrations at the Vuelta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Protestors disrupted Israel\u2013Premier Tech\u2019s team time trial<\/a> on 27 August, and there were more significant protests last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n

On stage 10 of the race, demonstrators entered the course, leading to Intermarch\u00e9\u2013Wanty\u2019s Simone Petilli crashing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

After the incident, the riders’ union, the Cyclistes Professionels Associ\u00e9s (CPA), met with race organisers before stage 11 to discuss how to approach the issue<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

President of the CPA, Adam Hansen, said on Twitter: \u201cWe remind everyone that cyclists are not involved in political or social disputes \u2013 they are simply doing their job: racing. Their safety must never be put at risk.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we respect the right to peaceful protest, actions that endanger athletes cannot be accepted. Rider safety must remain the highest priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

Later that day, the race organisers cut stage 11 short by 3km<\/a> and said there would be no stage winner due to protests at the finish line in Bilbao.<\/p>\n

\"TeamPolice watch protesters at the finish line of stage 11 at La Vuelta. Miguel Riopa \/ Getty Images <\/p>\n

Cycling\u2019s governing body, the UCI, then said it \u201cfirmly condemned<\/a>\u201d the protests and stressed the importance of political neutrality in sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following stage 11, Israel\u2013Premier Tech said it would not withdraw from the race, saying the team \u201cremains committed\u201d to La Vuelta.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Protests continued at the race through the weekend. <\/p>\n

Israel\u2013Premier Tech also participated in the Tour of Britain, which concluded yesterday, where its kit retained its full name.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel\u2013Premier Tech has removed its name from its cycling kit for the Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, citing safety reasons…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124304,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-124303","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-cycling","8":"tag-cycling","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124303","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124303"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124303\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124303"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124303"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124303"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}