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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Jeremy Whittle

Israel-Premier Tech’s main sponsor withdraws backing citing ‘untenable’ position

Security tries to push back members of the Gernika Palestine initiative in Bilbao in September.
Protests such as this one in Bilbao were a regular feature of the Vuelta a España in September. Photograph: Miguel Tona/EPA

The main sponsor of the Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) team of the four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome has pulled out of funding the team, despite a pledge to rebrand and distance itself from its Israeli identity. The Canadian company Premier Tech, in a statement issued on Friday, said that it had decided to “step down as co-title sponsor of the team, taking effect immediately”.

“Although we took notice of the team’s decision to change its name for the 2026 season,” the statement said, “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.”

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