The team known as Israel Premier Tech will cease to exist next season as it undergoes a name change, sponsor change, rebranding and a change of nationality. The team has decommissioned its website and social media accounts pending its relaunch as a team outfit.
However, it appears that may not be enough to bring an end to the pro-Palestine protests directed at the team last year, especially at La Vuelta.
While Gran Canaria was due to host the conclusion of the race next year, its officials have previously said that would not happen if Israel Premier Tech was on the start line.
However, the team will have raced as a completely new entity for more than eight months by the time Gran Canaria was scheduled to host the Vuelta next year. But that does not appear to be enough for officials there and now looks almost certain Gran Canaria has backed out of hosting the race.
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It is the presence of the team formerly known as Israel Premier Tech that is continuing to prove problematic. And comments from unnamed sources in Gran Canaria now offer the first sign protest is likely to follow the team, even in its new guise.
Team founder and owner, Sylvan Adams, has stepped back from the day-to-day running of the team and will no longer speak for it. He said he was taking that step back because the team is planning to break its link with Israel.
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But the fact Adams still owns the team appears to be the sticking point for the officials in Gran Canaria, who remain unwilling to host La Vuelta if the team is on the start line.
“Despite reports of Sylvan Adams’ departure from team management and the team’s financial difficulties, the team owner remains the same, and the possibility of participation in La Vuelta , based on sporting merit, is still there," an official in Gran Canaria told Spanish newspaper AS.
The source added that "therefore, the Gran Canaria Island Council’s position has not changed”. That was a reference to a statement the council released after Vuelta 2025 ended stating it would not host the planned Vuelta 2026 finale if "Israel Premier Tech" was in the race.
That statement came in the immediate aftermath of the final stage of La Vuelta 2025 being abandoned midway due to large pro-Palestine protests in Madrid.
The president of the Gran Canaria Island Council, Antonio Morales, made it clear at the time the race would not take place there next year if the team was in the race.
"Gran Canaria is not willing to whitewash genocide and Israel's actions through sport or any other means," he said, and it now appears the €6.5 million deal to bring the race there is off.
