Escape Collective spoke to individuals inside the team, as well as others with direct knowledge of its operations and rider recruitment, to understand how the war is reshaping the squad’s finances, recruitment strategies, and day-to-day existence inside the sport. Sources for this story were granted anonymity to speak freely without fear of retaliation.

Though the team has staunchly denied it when asked twice in the past month by Escape, rumours continue to swirl that the team is facing pressure from its other sponsors and various stakeholders in the sport to drop ‘Israel’ from its team name, according to multiple sources within the sport with direct connections to the squad.

“I can categorically confirm this is not true. The team name will remain Israel-Premier Tech,” a team spokesperson told Escape in response to a series of questions posed to IPT prior to the Bilbao protests at the Vuelta a España. “The team has never been asked by sponsors or race organisers to change its name, nor does the team have any plans to change its longstanding identity as an Israeli-based team, open to all.” The team’s owner, Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, certainly appears to have little appetite to withdraw from his team. However, the future of its other sponsorships have been called into question.

This article was published by Escape Collective in September, 2025. You can read the full article here.