BREAKING | Premier Tech demands Israel - Premier Tech drop “Israel” from team name

The future of the Israel - Premier Tech cycling team is under renewed scrutiny after its title sponsor, Premier Tech, publicly demanded that the squad remove the word “Israel” from its name. The Canadian multinational said the team must adopt “a new identity and brand image” if the partnership is to continue, following what has been a dramatic summer for the team.

In a statement released from its headquarters in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, Premier Tech explained: “We are sensitive and attentive to the situation on the international scene, which has evolved considerably since our arrival on the World Tour in 2017.” The company emphasized its long-standing commitment to cycling. “Involved in cycling for more than 30 years, Premier Tech has always placed the development of the sport and Quebec and Canadian cyclists at the heart of its involvement.”

That commitment, the company made clear, now comes with conditions. “Our expectation is that the team will move to a new name that excludes the term Israel, and that it will adopt a new identity and brand image,” the statement read.

The demand follows weeks of turmoil during the Vuelta a España, where repeated pro-Palestinian protests targeted Israel - Premier Tech’s participation. Demonstrations blocked stages, disrupted finishes, and culminated in the cancellation of the final stage in Madrid. Protesters accused the team of representing a state engaged in atrocities in Gaza.

Those accusations have gained sharp new resonance. Earlier this month, the United Nations Independent International Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza. The Commission found reasonable grounds that Israeli authorities had carried out four of the five acts under the Genocide Convention, including killings, serious harm, and conditions of life calculated to destroy the population. While Israel rejected the findings as biased, the report marked the first time a UN body has formally declared genocide in Gaza.

The timing has left the cycling team and its partners under intense pressure. According to Cyclingnews, IPT’s bike supplier, Factor, has already informed team owner Sylvan Adams that sponsorship is “untenable” unless the squad disassociates itself from Israel. Meanwhile, organizers of O Gran Camiño in Spain have said they will not invite the team to their 2026 edition if the name remains unchanged.

The backlash has also reached inside the sport’s political arena. Spain’s National Sports Council accused the UCI, cycling’s governing body, of “whitewashing the Gaza genocide” by failing to respond firmly to the disruptions. Several riders, including Spanish professional Pello Bilbao, have spoken out bluntly. “I don’t understand the UCI’s hypocrisy; what happened in Gaza is genocide,” Bilbao said after the Vuelta protests.

The commercial ramifications are equally bleak. Le Soir reported earlier this month that Israel-Premier Tech would likely continue under the simpler name “Premier Tech” from 2026. Team insiders, however, told cycling journalist Daniel Benson that the Belgian newspaper’s reporting was inaccurate. Still, the mounting pressure from sponsors and race organizers makes a name change appear increasingly unavoidable.

For Premier Tech, the decision is framed as an effort to safeguard what is left of its reputation and keep focus on the sport itself. The company’s statement emphasises its belief that cycling should remain a vehicle for development and opportunity rather than embroiled in geopolitics. But with the UN genocide finding now shaping global perceptions, and with protests spilling dramatically onto race routes, detaching from the Israeli state identity has become a condition for the team’s survival at the top level.

Whether Sylvan Adams and the management of Israel - Premier Tech will agree remains uncertain. Adams has been outspoken in defending the team’s current identity, seeing it as part of a broader project to promote Israel through sport. Yet with Premier Tech, Factor, and major race organisers all signalling that the brand cannot continue as is, the team faces an existential crisis heading into 2026.