Israel-Premier Tech's Cycling Problems Continue

It has been a busy and disruptive time of late for cycling's Israel-Premier Tech team, and following on from the demonstrations and incidents that were seen at last month's Vuelta a Espana in Spain, where pro Palestinian protesters caused a scene and some minor accidents for the riders, it was known that they were looking at a name change.    

Just a few days ago the team themselves had stated that the last few months had been 'an incredibly difficult period' but that they had 'recognised the need for change' and with a 'steadfast commitment' to riders, staff and valued partners, they confirmed that they would be renaming and rebranding to move away from their current Israeli identity to protect the future of the team. In many ways they were hoping that the changes would give them the kind of jackpot win many look for at a crypto casino as they looked to the future success of the team and their desire to continue attracting sponsors. 

However, things took a twist over the weekend as former rider, Canada's Derek Gee, took to the media to state that he was now facing a damages claim for 30 million Euros (£26 million) following his termination of his contract with the team over 'personal beliefs'. The 28 year old announced his decision to part company with the team back in August ahead of September's Vuelta a Espana, and it was a blow as he was one of their best riders, finishing fourth in the general classification at this year's Giro d'Italia.

Gee stated that he had ultimately done "nothing more than exercise his fundamental rights as a professional and as a person," because he had developed "serious concerns related to racing for the team, both from a safety and personal belief standpoint," which had then "weighed heavily on my conscience". He added that he believed that ending a contract was 'every person's right' when they had begun to feel unable to perform their work under existing circumstances.

 For their part, the Israel-Premier Tech team released a simple statement that explained how they were 'unable to comment on the matter' because the case is currently under review by the arbitral board of cycling's world governing body, the UCI. The UCI are yet to comment to those outlet's that have already contacted them.

It is also unclear as to what the claim of 30 million Euros would relate to as riders' annual contracts are usually a mere fraction of that sort of stated sum, and by way of a comparison, World Champion and three time Tour de France winner Tadej Pogacar is quite easily the highest pad cyclist in the sport, but his annual salary comes in at a figure of roughly around the eight million Euros mark.

It is quite likely that there is a lot of road left when it comes to how long and far this story may run, and there will be fans, pundits and commentators who all have their favoured opinion on what has actually happened here, but co owner Canadian-Israeli billionaire property magnate Sylvan Adams' position as a 'self appointed ambassador to Israel' is well known, as are the safety issues that have been raised for all riders in the peloton given the recent protests at events, and despite the steps already being taken by the team to provide a break from the controversies, it seems that their off track issues are no where near an end.