{"id":153615,"date":"2025-09-22T18:42:14","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:42:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/153615\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T18:42:14","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T18:42:14","slug":"without-a-name-change-without-a-flag-change-we-wont-continue-factor-gives-israel-premier-tech-ultimatum-as-widespread-protests-make-bike-sponsorship-too-controversial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/153615\/","title":{"rendered":"Without a name change, without a flag change, we won’t continue”: Factor gives Israel-Premier Tech ultimatum as widespread protests make bike sponsorship “too controversial"},"content":{"rendered":"

The CEO of bike brand Factor has raised doubts about whether Israel-Premier Tech will continue to use its bikes next season, the widespread protests about the team at the Vuelta prompting Rob Gitelis to insist “without a name change, without a flag change, we won’t continue”.<\/p>\n

Gitelis\u00a0has already given the team the ultimatum, his comments and views reaching the public via an interview with Cyclingnews<\/a>\u00a0in which the bike brand’s founder said sponsorship of the team is simply now “too controversial”.<\/p>\n

Protests against Israel-Premier Tech’s presence at\u00a0races are nothing new, however they reached a whole new level during the\u00a0Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, numerous crashes caused by protesters running into the road and the final stage in Madrid abandoned mid-race as pro-Palestine demonstrations stormed the finishing circuit.<\/p>\n

Earlier in the three weeks, riders had expressed fears for their safety and Israel-Premier Tech faced pressure from some in the race to withdraw to bring an end to the protests, particularly after clashes between protesters and police in Bilbao. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed support for the team, praising riders and staff for “not giving in to hate and intimidation, while team boss Sylvan Adams said they would “not surrender to terrorists” and will “never ride without the name Israel”.<\/p>\n

\"Israel-PremierIsrael-Premier Tech monogram-branded kit September 2025 (credit: Israel-Premier Tech)<\/p>\n

During the Vuelta the team told us it would not change its name, but did finish the race in kit that omitted mention of Israel. Now, its stance of continuing to race under the Israel-Premier Tech banner has further been called into question with Gitelis\u00a0suggesting Factor will withdraw its bike sponsorship of the team unless the name and branding steps away from Israel.<\/p>\n

While Israel-Premier Tech is not officially state-owned, instead funded\u00a0Canadian-Israeli billionaire Adams, it has\u00a0received some funding from Israel’s ministry for tourism and Adams \u2013 who attended Donald Trump’s inauguration, encouraged US attacks on Iran in June, and called on Israel to “finish the job”\u00a0in Gaza \u2013 has described the team as “ambassadors”\u00a0for Israel and a means of promoting a “more realistic vision”\u00a0of modern Israel.<\/p>\n

\"Crit\u00e9riumCrit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9 2025 Israel-Premier Tech (credit: ASO\/Tony Esnault)<\/p>\n

Gitelis told Cyclingnews: “I’ve already told the team: Without a name change, without a flag change, we won’t continue.\u00a0It’s not a matter of right or wrong any more. It’s become too controversial around our brand, and my responsibility is to my employees and my shareholders, to give them maximum space with which to grow this company and make it profitable. Adding additional level of conflict or complexity, we just can’t accept that any more.<\/p>\n

“It’s no longer a personal thing of I support this or I support that. There’s just a certain level of controversy we just can’t have surrounding the brand.”<\/p>\n

The report suggests that Adams may have softened his stance on changing the team’s name, but believed it would remain an Israeli team, something Gitelis has made clear is a non-negotiable that needs addressing. Factor’s CEO also referenced “other considerations” that would be taken into account and suggested the name and flag change are simply the “absolute minimum requirements” and more of a starting point for any discussion.<\/p>\n

“We don’t have a signed contract for 2026 and beyond.\u00a0We did have a verbal commitment to continue, but things have escalated since then that we can no longer continue to meet that verbal commitment,” Gitelis\u00a0continued.<\/p>\n

“I think everyone understands that coming off the Vuelta, it’s become a lot more urgent and serious.\u00a0These things take time, registering teams, working with the UCI but I think action needs to start imminently.\u00a0We’re talking about a full rebranding of the team, if it’s going to take place. That’s a very significant undertaking, as well as moving rider contracts to another country.”<\/p>\n

It’s a significant change in message from just two months ago when, before the Tour de France, Factor said the team and brand would “celebrate [their] partnership” and “multi-year contract” with a special edition paint job for the biggest race of the season.<\/p>\n

\"20252025 Tour de France Israel-Premier tech kit (credit: IPT Cycling)<\/p>\n

Gitelis’s most recent comments put that statement about having signed a multi-year “partnership extension” into doubt, even if at the time he said Factor is “delighted to continue our partnership”.<\/p>\n

\"20252025 Tour de France Israel-Premier Tech Factor Ostro Vam (credit: IPT Cycling)<\/p>\n

The team, notably British rider Jake Stewart, have also\u00a0used the brand’s wild-looking unreleased aero bike<\/a> since we first spotted it back at the\u00a0Crit\u00e9rium du Dauphin\u00e9, a race at which Stewart won a sprint stage aboard it.<\/p>\n

\"20252025 Dauphine new Factor aero bike prototype lead image (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Before the Tour, Adams called their partnership with Factor a “special relationship” and described the bike brand as “a great partner”. Adams too suggested the two parties had extended their contract (described as a “new, perpetual renewal”), so it remains to be seen how he and the team react to Gitelis’s latest comments, although the Factor boss’s\u00a0interview suggests this was a “verbal agreement” and “we don’t have a signed contract for 2026 and beyond”.<\/p>\n

Despite the sunshine and rainbows message of the summer, Gitelis insisted\u00a0“this isn’t something that started a week ago, 10 days ago, a month ago” and said Factor has “found it difficult for the past two years to really use and activate the team to the level that we would like to”.<\/p>\n

> “A lot of it was caused by greed”: Factor’s CEO on navigating “self-inflicted”\u00a0bike industry chaos, Chris Froome’s set-up complaints and why rim brakes are never coming back<\/a><\/p>\n

“We’ve been politically sensitive, as it’s a difficult time,” he said. “I wouldn’t say we’re trying to disassociate but it’s always been difficult to get the maximum activation out of the team that we would like. It’s difficult to celebrate the victory of the team, so we’ve been celebrating the victory of the athlete. When Stevie Williams won a Classic [Fl\u00e8che Wallonne] last year, we celebrated Stevie Williams, we didn’t celebrate Israel-Premier Tech. We were not able to activate it to the level that we would like to.”<\/p>\n

road.cc\u00a0contacted Israel-Premier Tech for comment and was told the team “is currently in the planning phase for 2026 team branding and will communicate any potential changes in due course”.<\/p>\n

\"Israel-PremierIsrael-Premier Tech 2025 Tour of Britain (credit: SWpix.com\/Simon Wilkinson)<\/p>\n

The Vuelta protests have already raised worries about next year’s Tour de France, which is due to start in Barcelona.\u00a0Ex-UCI president Brian Cookson suggested that cycling’s governing body should introduce a new rule banning professional teams from featuring nation states<\/a> in their names.<\/p>\n

Barcelona City Council\u00a0confirmed that it has no plans to cancel next year’s Tour start, though the local authority has made it clear that the Catalan city aims to host the race without a team bearing Israel\u2019s name or flag.<\/p>\n

“We want the teams competing under the Israeli flag, in the same way as has happened with Russia, to stop competing under this flag,”\u00a0sports councillor David Escud\u00e9 said.<\/p>\n

The UCI, however, accused the Spanish government of\u00a0“exploiting sport for political purposes”\u00a0by backing the demonstrators’\u00a0protests against Israel-Premier Tech’s participation at the Vuelta.<\/p>\n

\"Pro-PalestinePro-Palestine protests in Madrid, 2025 Vuelta (credit: Zac Williams\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

Describing the protesters’\u00a0actions as “militant”, the governing body’s statement condemned the “unacceptable and counterproductive”\u00a0stance taken by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez, who last\u00a0week called for Israel to be banned from all sports events following the\u00a0cancelled Madrid stage, arguing that the nation should not be permitted to “whitewash”\u00a0its \u201cbarbarism\u201d in Gaza.<\/p>\n

“We regret the fact that the Spanish Prime Minister and his government have supported actions that could hinder the smooth running of a sporting competition and, in some cases, expressed their admiration for the demonstrators,”\u00a0the UCI said.<\/p>\n

“This position is contradictory to the Olympic values of unity, mutual respect, and peace. It also calls into question Spain’s ability to host major international sporting events, ensuring that they take place in safe conditions and in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter.<\/p>\n

\"Pro-PalestinePro-Palestine protests in Madrid, 2025 Vuelta (credit: Zac Williams\/SWpix.com)<\/p>\n

“The UCI strongly condemns the exploitation of sport for political purposes in general, and especially coming from a government.”<\/p>\n

The UCI’s position was\u00a0defended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who claimed that Israel’s participation in sporting events “complies”\u00a0with the Olympic Charter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The CEO of bike brand Factor has raised doubts about whether Israel-Premier Tech will continue to use its…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117524,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[4985,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-153615","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\/153615","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=153615"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153615\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117524"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153615"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153615"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153615"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}