Premier Tech, the Canadian pesticide company that has been the title sponsor of the Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) UCI road cycling team since 2022, will end its naming rights partnership deal with the side despite the promise of a rebrand amid a backdrop of significant protest at top-tier cycling events.
The move means that the team has no confirmed name for the 2026 campaign, despite the fact that it is vying for top-tier UCI WorldTeam status.
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In a statement, Premier tech said: “Although we took notice of the team’s decision to change its name for the 2026 season, the core reason for Premier Tech to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable for us to continue as a sponsor.”
Back in October, in an attempt to placate sponsors and protestors alike, IPT pledged to drop the Israel moniker from its name and team owner Sylvan Adams – the Canadian Property mogul who founded the side – said he would step back from the day-to-day running of the team and would no longer speak on its behalf publicly.
Adams stopped short of saying he would sell the team, but without the backing of prominent sponsors such as Premier tech or bike supplier Factor (which said it would end its support of the team if a name change did not happen), it means the burden of financially backing the organization would effectively fall on his shoulders alone.
Furthermore, a replacement for Adams as the figurehead of the team is also yet to be announced, further clouding its future.
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By GlobalDataThe withdrawal of Premier Tech’s partnership came as the team faced significant scrutiny in the fallout from Israel’s role in the conflict in Gaza.
This manifested most recently in the Vuelta a España, one of the sport’s three ‘Grand Tours’, which saw widespread protests from pro-Palestinian campaigners against Israel’s presence in the peloton, that in the end saw the final stage of the race cancelled due to the disruption.
During that race, IPT dropped the Israel moniker in an attempt to pacify the protests, but to no avail.
Since then, the team’s offer to compete in the Giro dell'Emilia, a one-day classic on the secondary UCI ProSeries tour, citing fears that IPT’s presence may inspire similar protests.
