Factor are pushing Israel-Premier Tech to change their name and registration country from Israel, its founder has revealed.
The bike manufacturer has been the team's equipment sponsor since 2020. In an interview with Cyclingnews on Monday, Factor's founder and CEO, Rob Gitelis explained that the relationship would not continue without changes: "I've already told the team: Without a name change, without a flag change, we won't continue."
At the recent Vuelta a España, the team was at the centre of pro-Palestine protests which threatened to derail the race at times. Multiple stages were shortened, with the final day cancelled. At that race, Israel-Premier Tech raced the final eight stages in kits without 'Israel' written on them due to safety concerns, although the team name was not changed.
Calls to limit Israel's activity in the world of sports have continued, with Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez last week saying that the country should be limited from participating while its war on Gaza continued.
More than 64,000 people have been killed in Gaza by Israel, according to Gaza's health ministry, after a Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in October 2023 saw around 1,200 people killed, and 251 people taken hostage. On Sunday, the UK formally recognised the state of Palestine in order to "revive the hope of peace", the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, said.
"It's not a matter of right or wrong anymore," Factor CEO Gitelis said. "It's become too controversial around our brand, and my responsibility is to my employees and my shareholders, to give them maximum space with which to grow this company and make it profitable. Adding additional level of conflict or complexity, we just can't accept that any more.
"It's no longer a personal thing of I support this or I support that. There's just a certain level of controversy we just can't have surrounding the brand."
Cyclingnews reported that a meeting was held between Gitelis and Israel-Premier Tech co-owner Sylvan Adams, and that the changes were provisionally agreed to.
A verbal commitment is said to have been made between Factor and Israel-Premier Tech over continuing to work together from 2026 onwards, earlier this year, but "things have escalated since then that we can no longer continue to meet that verbal commitment," Gitelis said.
"I think everyone understands that coming off the Vuelta, it's become a lot more urgent and serious," he added.
"These things take time, registering teams, working with the UCI but I think action needs to start imminently.
"We're talking about a full rebranding of the team, if it's going to take place. That's a very significant undertaking, as well as moving rider contracts to another country."
Israel-Premier Tech are Factor's most high-profile partner in road cycling, with the team finishing in the top five at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta this year. They are likely to gain a WorldTour licence for 2026.
