"It is a crazy situation, I want to go home" - Israeli national champion Itamar Einhorn departs Tour of Guangxi with mind elsewhere due to ongoing conflict in his homeland
Cycling
The ongoing conflict in Israel has affected many and although the current Israeli national champion Itamar Einhorn has been racing in China at the Tour of Guangxi, his mind is back home.
"I have mixed feelings. I try to race as best I can. When the pace is high, my focus is on the race. But the past 2 days it was easy in the peloton, then my thoughts went to the situation. It was It is difficult to have the focus again in the end. I am certainly not at my best here," the Israel - Premier Tech rider told Sporza prior to stage 3, which he would actually DNF. "My family is okay. I am concerned about the situation in Israel and also worldwide. We also saw some attacks in Europe. If it continues like this, no one will be safe."
"It is a crazy situation, I want to go home," Einhorn continues. Despite the fact he would go on to ultimately abandon Einhorn was also clear that whilst he is racing in China, the 26-year-old wanted to show off the Israeli national jersey with pride. "I want to show that in the peloton and make it clear to everyone that we want peace."
Given the name of the team, the entire squad of Israel - Premier Tech is finding it difficult due to the struggles in the team's home nation. "We mainly came here for Itamar, but he doesn't feel 100 percent mentally because of what is happening," explains Jens Reynders. "We try to do our best, but it is not easy for everyone. These are hard days for the team and for everyone. We try to focus on the match, because that is important. But you can feel from our Israeli riders that something is wrong. A lot of them are also at the end of their contracts and this situation is on top of it."
Kieran WoodDeputy Editor-in-Chief
Kieran Wood is a sports journalist based in Wales and has been active in journalism since 2022. He regularly contributes to DartsNews.com and CyclingUpToDate.com, where he covers professional cycling and darts. In cycling, his work includes liveblogs from major races, including the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia, and La Vuelta a España, alongside race reports and analysis. He has also conducted interviews with professional riders.
His reporting spans the full racing calendar, from one-day classics to stage races, with a focus on accurate, real-time coverage and clear contextual analysis. For statistics, results, and historical context, he regularly uses resources such as ProCyclingStats. To support reporting on rider activity and training context where relevant, he also references Strava.
In his work, Kieran places strong emphasis on careful sourcing, editorial accuracy, and updating articles as new, verified information becomes available.
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- He should have been allowed to go to Movistar. Right now both arent a good fit for each other and are just wasting each other's time and effortabstractengineer08-11-2026
- Thibau Nys does exactly what Iserbyt is calling for
Rafionain-Glas08-11-2026 - i did not see it. was the relegation justified or an overly hard decision? and don‘t cross riders deviate from straight lines all the time? bumping into each others when they cut corners, etc … why being more strict with the rules on the finish sprint?Ketterechts08-11-2026
- seems like we are advertising the website with pointless comments…Ketterechts08-11-2026
- So?Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- The UCI do have their favorites.
Front24208-11-2026 - On a positive note, you maybe notice turning this topic into a discussion has the benefit of eliminating certain participants who do not see how they can turn it back to their sole interest ;-)Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- People see what they want to. I am actually the opposite of your accusation, probably more of a rebel than most of you who don’t get the big picture. The difference is, I don’t go moaning publicly about the consequences of my transgressions, I understand the need for rules and I take my OWN responsibility when deciding to ignore or break them or doing so involuntarily. I will also not hesitate to state my case or argue vehemently when relevant, sometimes it works, sometimes it makes things worse but that’s the price to pay for principles and having character.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- That may be but that was unknown to others and nothing says that’s the whole truth. Again, don’t try to misinterpret, it is a call and technically it is correct. Besides, even if there is a valid reason, that does not disqualify the ruling or punishment as far as the rules have been developed. I don’t think they’re as far as in football where for handball there is a distinction (in some ways and specific cases) between intentional or not. And football can be just as harsh and people live with it, eg the offside rule, also judged to within tiny fractions but often wrong or ignored. It’s the nature of every collective organisation and sometimes I wonder if our rebellion against it isn’t seated in the feelings we carry from the injustices we’ve felt personally, like being flashed driving 1km/h too fast when we are explained limits are just a security measure but we are absolutely certain not to have endangered anyone with our transgression. The problem is, nobody has better solutions and no 2 people have the same interpretation of where a limit should be.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
- Because for you deviated implies the other rider MUST have been made to fall and fail to finish ??? I don’t know if you ride a bike but next time someone carves you up or drives dangerously close, just hold back from those feelings of changing something, reporting or filming or even complaining. Everyone will just say, hey you’re still here undamaged, doesn’t seem like anyone did anything.Jumpyjohn08-11-2026
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Today is one of IPT’s final race days of the season but it’s a busy one with three teams racing in China, Japan, and Italy. One thing in particular unites the three teams and that’s a black armband worn by all riders, a symbol of solidarity with the innocent victims whose lives
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