"Right now I wouldn’t sign a contract with Israel" – De Marchi questions cycling’s silence on Gaza conflict

Veteran Italian rider Alessandro De Marchi has spoken out about his former team, Israel–Premier Tech, saying he’s “happy and relieved” not to be part of the setup amid the ongoing war in Gaza. The 39-year-old, now racing for Team Jayco, spent two seasons with the Israeli-backed squad from 2021 to 2022. As tensions have escalated, so too have the protests, including a demonstrator wearing a “Israel out of the Tour” T-shirt during Stage 11 and further anti-Israel actions on Stage 17 of the 2025 Tour de France.

“I would have really struggled to be there now and been in great difficulty,” De Marchi told the Observer. “I won’t criticise anyone riding there because everyone is free to decide, but right now I wouldn’t sign a contract with Israel. I wouldn’t be able to manage the feelings I have, to be able to be involved in something like that.”

De Marchi said his decision to join the team in 2021 was largely practical. “At the time they gave me a chance to keep riding at the top level, they gave me a good contract and salary, and I was looking at the house I had to build and my family. Other riders are the same.”

But time and perspective have shifted his outlook. “Of course now I am older and able to reflect in a way I didn’t five years ago, and I appreciate that in life there are times that, though it may be hard, it’s better to follow your morals. Right now I would do things in a different way.”

“Back then I really understood very little about Israel,” he continued. “The people behind the team had a desire to show off the beauty of the country – that was a clear policy of the team – but there were never any feelings against Gaza or Palestinians, or reference to the occupation in the West Bank. There was a lighter propaganda, let’s say, where the view of Israel was projected. You could feel it was a complex, divided society. But you could also see that there was no space to discuss Gaza.”

De Marchi called for the sport to take a clearer stance. “We need to see real action from our governing body to position the cycling world on the right side and to show awareness of what’s going on in Gaza. We have to show that as a cycling world we care about human rights and international law violations.”