Israel-Premier Tech will be renamed and Sylvan Adams will step back from the team
The controversial cycling team will move away from the Israeli identity.
Israel-Premier Tech, the controversial cycling team competing in UCI ProTeam (cycling's second division behind UCI World Tour) will be renamed, and its co-owner Sylvan Adams will step back from his "day-to-day involvement" and will no longer speak on behalf of the team, instead focusing on his role as President of the World Jewish Congress, Israel, the team announced on Monday afternoon.
The statement sent by the team says that the team's owners and management "have recognized the need for change" and a decision was made to "move away from its current Israeli identity". They defend that the team's vision was always been about nurturing young talents from non-traditional cycling countries including Israel, and has always been a sport project. "In sport, progress often requires sacrifice, and this step is essential to securing the future of the team".
The team was funded in 2015 under the name Cycling Academy Team, adding the name Israel in 2017, changing later to Israel Start-Up Nation in 2020 and its current (soon former) name in 2022. From their 2025 line up of 30 drivers, only three were from Israel.
Protesters against Israel-Premier boycotted Vuelta a España 2025
This comes after protests from cycling fans, who thought the team was being used by Israel to "sportwash" their image amid the ongoing genocide in Gaza. Israel-Premier Tech, like most cycling teams, is private and not directly affiliated to the Israeli government but was funded by Adams, a businessman with close ties with Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu and a self-proclaimed "ambassador of Israel", using cycling to boost awareness of Israel around the world, including having the Giro d'Italia 2018 departing from Jerusalem.
Protests reached its peak during Vuelta a España last September, a UCI World Tour competition, one that Israel-Premier Tech was allowed to participate as they were one of the best teams from ProTeam. Several stages, including the final one in Madrid, had to be cancelled due to protesters invading the streets, claiming for the end of the war in Palestine.
Last week, the team had been disinvited from Giro dell'Emilia because of safety issues. The team's sponsors, Premier Tech and Factor, had been reportedly pushing for the Israel name to be dropped.
The future name of the team will be announced shortly, as the team is expected to be promoted back to the World Tour in 2026. What do you think of this change?
