Israel-Premier Tech removed from Giro dell'Emilia startlist
Following reports earlier this week that the Giro dell'Emilia organiser and local authority sought to eject Israel-Premier Tech from the Italian one-day race, it has now been revealed that the ProTeam has been removed from the startlist.
In the run-up to the hilly warm-up to the season's final Monument, Il Lombardia, local action groups announced their intention to launch protests, blocking the Giro dell-Emilia from continuing if Israel-Premier Tech was present. As a second-tier race, the organisers are not obliged to invite the team – at WorldTour level, the top-two ProTeams are automatically afforded a spot, like all WorldTeams.
"We made that decision in order to guarantee public safety," said Adriano Amici, chairman of the Giro dell'Emilia organisation. "The atmosphere is very tense, putting both Israel-Premier Tech and other riders at risk. We do not want to run the risk of our race being disrupted. It is not a decision from a sporting point of view, but because we had no other choice."
