The 40-year-old Dane added that he had not had any problems with planned protests targeted at Israel-Premier Tech during big races.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t actually experienced that. With or without Israel-PremierTech at the start, there would still have been demonstrations. You also see climate demonstrations during the Tour de France. These are big events where there is a lot of media attention. That said, it’s better to ride without,\u201d he told Feltet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Jakob](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1145652510.jpg\")
Jakob Fuglsang celebrating his 2019 victory at Li\u00e8ge\u2013Bastogne\u2013Li\u00e8ge, when he rode for Astana. Tim de Waele \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Fuglsang\u2019s remarks follow former teammate Alessandro de Marchi stating in July he was \u201chappy and relieved<\/a>\u201d not to be cycling for Israel-Premier Tech.\u00a0<\/p>\n De Marchi, who moved to Jayco-AlUla in 2023, told The Observer he would no longer feel comfortable riding for Israel-Premier Tech due to Israel’s continued war on Gaza.<\/p>\n \u201cI would have really struggled to be there now and been in great difficulty,\u201d said De Marchi.\u00a0<\/p>\n De Marchi rode for Israel-Premier Tech between 2021 and 2022. He said the team \u201cgave me a chance to keep riding\u201d and that he was \u201clooking at the house I had to build and my family\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOf course now I am older and able to reflect in a way I didn\u2019t five years ago, and I appreciate that in life there are times that, though it may be hard, it\u2019s better to follow your morals. Right now I would do things in a different way,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n Fuglsang and De Marchi\u2019s comments come after the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement called for peaceful protests<\/a> at this year\u2019s Grand Tours.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAs Israel escalates its ongoing genocide against 2.3 million Palestinians in Gaza and its violent military occupation of the West Bank, international sporting bodies have a moral obligation to take all measures to prevent genocide, or risk being held criminally liable,\u201d the BDS movement said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Protests were visible at the Tour de France, with those present waving Palestine flags and unfurling banners as the Tour rode through Dieulefit on Wednesday 23 July.\u00a0<\/p>\n An activist from Extinction Rebellion was also arrested in Toulouse after running onto the final straight of stage 11 with a T-shirt that read ‘Israel out of the Tour’ while waving a keffiyeh scarf.\u00a0<\/p>\n