Factor Bikes said they could no longer be involved with the team without a name change.
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My (totally speculative) theory is that this not just about IPTâs team name, but that Factor has the opportunity to sponsor a team with more wins, and Gitelis wants to get out of contract with IPT.
Which team has more wins that doesnât already have a bike sponsor in place?
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Ineos? But doesnât mean it will be Ineos, we saw a few time in the past such a situation causing some sort of rotation in equipment sponsoring.
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Ah youâre right, 27 to 21.
Factor doesnât have a contract signed with them for next year, so there is nothing to âget out ofâ.
I found this interesting. I asked Rob (in my Overnight Success episode on Factor) about their association with IPT and if thereâs ever been any pushback. Things have escalated in Gaza and with the team since then and it appears that aligning with IPT is now untenable.
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Israel has been an ethnosupremacist state committing crimes against Palestinians almost since its inception. The problem for all IPT sponsors is that the latest phase of their efforts to free Palestine from Palestinians to create a larger Israel has been front and centre on social media - namely its genocidal levelling of Gaza. In spite of most Western Media covering for Israel âs crime - and the USA and UK actively supporting and participating in it we know what is going on. Companies can no longer brush aside their association with Israel so essentially this is Factor covering their backs. They had no issue sports washing previous atrocities. Ditto any rider suddenly developing a conscience âŚ.I mean Id love it if IPT collapsed and the UCI suddenly banned Israel like they did Russia but I imagine this wonât happen and any statements like Factors are just going to be performative and commercial than suggesting any kind of moral compass has been found.
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That lines up with Pinarello moving to Q36.5