Canadian cyclist Derek Gee says he is facing a damages claim of \u20ac30m from his former team Israel-Premier Tech after ending his contract over what he described as \u201cpersonal beliefs\u201d.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old finished fourth overall at this year\u2019s Giro d\u2019Italia, but left Israel-Premier Tech shortly before September\u2019s Vuelta a Espa\u00f1a, a race which was subject to pro-Palestinian protests linked to Israel\u2019s offensive in Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI terminated my contract with just cause, as is every person\u2019s right when they are unable to continue performing their work under the existing circumstances,\u201d Gee said in a statement on social media.<\/p>\n \u201cThis decision was not taken lightly \u2013 it followed an irreparable relationship with the team principal, as well as serious concerns related to racing for the team, both from a safety and personal-belief standpoint that weighed heavily on my conscience.\u201d<\/p>\n Israel-Premier Tech told Reuters they were unable to comment on the matter as the case was currently before the arbitral board of the UCI, the sport\u2019s governing body. Reuters has also contacted the UCI for comment.<\/p>\n Gee said leaving Israel-Premier Tech meant being without a contract or protection if he were injured, but added it was a risk he was willing to take as he could no longer continue racing for the team.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the team sees it differently,\u201d Gee continued. \u201cHowever, I am now facing what I understand to be a damages claim said to exceed approximately \u20ac30m \u2013 for doing nothing more than exercising my fundamental rights as a professional and a person.<\/p>\n \u201cIt strengthens my belief that leaving the team was the right decision, regardless of the recent announcement of branding changes and cosmetic structural shifts.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n It is unclear what the \u20ac30m figure represents. Riders typically earn only a fraction of that amount.<\/p>\n