"I call this a violent group of terrorists" - Israel - Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams doubles down against Vuelta protests and team's participation

Sylvan Adams, owner of Israel - Premier Tech and strong defender of the Israeli cause, was at the Vuelta a Espana during it's most difficult day where the race was neutralized into Bilbao. The controversial owner of the Israeli team has strongly pushed against the protestors and the Basque Country calling them terrorists, whilst maintaining his stance that the team should remain in the race, with the backing of the UCI.

“We've had two tough days in the Basque Country. The region is known as a stronghold of extreme left-wing activists and separatists who like to protest," Adams controversially began in an interview with Israel's Sports5. Adams was present at the race in that day but did not talk to the media on the ground. However he saw with his own eyes how strongly the protests have developed against the Israeli team, something which has taken over the spotlight in the race".

“We weren't surprised by this unkind reaction, and yet I've never seen anything like it in a cycling race. A huge and disproportionate number of flags and signs for Palestine and against the state of Israel, and enormous amounts of hatred".

Israel, according to the latest estimates, has killed almost 65.000 Palestinians in Gaza over the past two years, the grand majority civilians and a disturbing percentage of them being childen. This number of casualties includes hundreds of journalists and humanitarian aid workers, and the lack of action against the Middle-Eastern nation has been causing increasingly high levels of criticism all over the world.

After Russia's invasion of Ukraine there was a ban on Russian teams from the UCI, whilst its athletes compete until this day with the neutral flag, whilst Belarusians are in the same situation due to their aid of Russia's invasion. The lack of action against Israel in sports, including cycling, has lead to this immensely difficult situation where protests grow in size and strength in an attempt to pressure the team into leaving the competition.

But for the time being that will not happen. “For the first time, I decided to sit in the support car to see what was happening and, in an extreme case, make a decision. It was important for me to be there for the riders, some of whom felt threatened. They poured paint on our car, and at the end of the stage, we all saw the rioters pushing the guardrails and trying to get onto the course," he adds. "The decision to neutralize was the right one because it was not safe for the riders. In my opinion, the police did what they could.”

Adams in fact goes as far as calling terrorists to the groups that have been targeting his team during this race. “I call this a violent group of terrorists because they are violent people. In the end, they destroyed all the fans' bikes. The Basques have the best fans in the world, and it's a shame it ended this way,”

The riders are said to have the freedom to abandon the race individually if they desire, and it's been rumoured that the team could also change its name into next season to exclude the world Israel from it. Adams denied this, using familiar terminology: "Fake News, we will never race without the name Israel."

“The CEO of ASO, Yeann Le Mounneur, also asked to remove the team from the race, but I said I wouldn't do that. If we give up, it's not only the end of our team, but also of all the other teams," he argued. "Tomorrow they will demonstrate against the teams from Bahrain, the UAE, and Astana. There will be no end to the boycotts. I told them they were wrong and that we had the right to stay".

"I also received overwhelming support from the president of the International Cycling Union (UCI, ed.), David Lappartient. At the end of the day, we are a sports team and we want to compete and win. We want to continue developing the young riders we train at the Israel Cycling Academy, and that is what we will continue to do.”