Israel-Premier Tech is in the eye of the storm in Spain right now, because of their participation in La Vuelta a España. Pro-Palestine supporters have been demonstrating in every race, with Wednesday's stage having to finish earlier due to the large number of people, protesting about the participation of the Israeli team.
With the Spanish Grand Tour becoming the focal point of protests against the "sportwashing" of the genocide state of Israel (at the same time as the UEFA president was tepid in his views about the participation of Israeli teams in international competitions, striking compared to the firm ban against Russian's teams), the organisation of la Vuelta cannot legally push the team out without big consequences from UCI (International Cycling Union), so they hoped that the team would voluntarily resign. But that is not going to happen.
Israel-Premier Tech, funded by Sylvain Adams, a Zionist billionaire self-proclaimed "ambassador of Israel", sent a statement reminding they are "a professional cycling team. As such, the team remains committed to racing on at the Vuelta a España" a team spokesperson said.
"Any other course of action sets a dangerous precedent in the sport of cycling not only for Israel-Premier Tech, but for all teams. Israel-Premier Tech has repeatedly expressed its respect for everyone's right to protest, as long as those protests remain peaceful and do not compromise the safety of the peloton", they said.
La Vuelta had "suggested" them that the best way to ensure the safety of all racers from every team, as well as spectators, security forces and everyone involved, was for them to abandon the race. However, the team's director (who is Spanish), said that there are 180 families depending on the team, and abandoning La Vuelta would mean the end for a team that, they say, has no political view and riders from all over the world.