Gran Camiño refuse to invite Israel – Premier Tech to 2026 edition amid rising protests in Spain

Israel – Premier Tech will, by right, become a World Tour team from next season, meaning it will be entitled to compete (as it already did this year) in cycling’s three Grand Tours — the Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana — as well as in a wide range of other top-level races.

Since the conclusion of the Spanish Grand Tour, which was heavily disrupted by protests and unrest directed at keeping Sylvan Adams’ squad, several figures connected to Spanish cycling have voiced open support for the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, making clear that they do not wish to see Israel represented.

These voices have largely come from the political sphere. The Canary Islands council has warned that it will not host the finale of the 2026 Vuelta if Israel are involved, while Barcelona’s city council has requested that the team not be permitted to take part in the Tour de France, with the Catalan capital set to host the Grand Départ of the next edition. (On this point there has already been some softening, as the initial position was that Barcelona would refuse to host if Israel competed, whereas now it has been confirmed that the start will go ahead regardless.)

Remaining in Catalonia, the organisers of the Volta a Catalunya could have chosen not to invite the Israeli team earlier this year, but did nothing. Next season, Israel – Premier Tech will automatically have the right to take part, just as it will in the Itzulia Basque Country, a race it skipped this year. The focus here on Catalonia and the Basque Country is no accident: outside Madrid and Galicia, these were the regions where the most disruptive and large-scale protests took place during the Vuelta.

And it is precisely from Galicia that new developments have now emerged. Although Israel – Premier Tech has not ridden the Galician stage race for the past two years — their own decision, despite the fact that smaller events are always keen to attract World Tour teams — race director Ezequiel Mosquera, who witnessed the incidents at Mos in the Vuelta first-hand, has confirmed that Israel will not be invited to the 2026 edition.

“It is not an easy situation. Any organiser who had them at their race last year will be asking themselves the same questions we are now. It is not an easy situation,” said Mosquera, describing the atmosphere during the Vuelta as a moment of “maximum tension” for riders, team directors and organisers alike, in a context that was “very difficult to manage.”