The world is in the peloton, but the small world of cycling often seems to forget what is happening around it. Alessandro De Marchi reminds us of this, giving an interesting interview to the British periodical The Observer.

I'm relieved not to be a rider for Israel-Premier Tech is the title of the piece by Chris Marshall-Bell, in which the 39-year-old Friulian talks about how much he is suffering from the ongoing Palestinian genocide in Gaza and how difficult it would have been if he were still on the team he rode for in 2021 and 2022.

"I would have struggled a lot to wear that jersey now. I don't want to criticize anyone because everyone is free to decide who to race for, but at this moment I wouldn't sign a contract with Israel. I wouldn't be able to handle the feelings I'm experiencing, to be involved in something like this," explains the Red of Buja, in his last competitive season with Jayco Alula.

The Israel-Premier Tech team was founded in 2014 and first participated in the Tour de France in 2020. In its history, it has won three stages, none this year. Last week, a protester was arrested after running on the final straight of the 11th stage wearing a shirt that read "Israel out of the Tour". Anti-Israeli protesters have been active during the 17th stage and throughout the Giro d'Italia. Israel-Premier Tech is not a team owned by the state, although it has received a small sum from the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.

The team is financed by Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams and American businessman Ron Baron. Adams has stated that the team can promote a "more realistic vision" of modern Israel, defining its riders as "ambassadors of the country". This year, Adams has taken on an increasingly political role, participating in Donald Trump's inauguration as US president in January. He was defined as an "unofficial ambassador" of Israel and in June encouraged Trump to attack Iran, just days before he did so.

The precarious financial situation in cycling, combined with the fact that most riders have only a short sporting career, makes De Marchi understand why riders have no qualms about signing for Israel-Premier Tech. He states that the war in Gaza is usually not discussed among riders.

"Back then [in 2021] they gave me the opportunity to continue racing at the highest levels, they gave me a good contract and a good salary, and I was looking at the house I had to build and my family. It's the same for other colleagues. Of course, now I'm older and can reflect in a way I didn't five years ago, and I realize that in life there are moments when, even if it can be difficult, it's better to follow one's moral compass. Right now, I would do things differently," continues Alessandro, who has Anna by his side and is a father of two children.

Talking about his time with the Israeli team, De Marchi, who in the past year has actively dedicated himself to reading and studying the history of the conflict, adds: "At the time, I really understood very little about Israel. The people behind the team had the desire to show the beauties of the country - this was a clear team policy - but there were never feelings against Gaza or the Palestinians, or references to the occupation in the West Bank. There was a lighter propaganda, let's say, in which the vision of Israel was projected. You could perceive that it was a complex and divided society. But you could also see that there was no space to discuss Gaza."

Despite sporadic small protests against the Israeli team in various cycling events on the calendar, cycling as a whole has remained silent about the war, insisting that sport and politics do not mix. De Marchi, however, would like the UCI to at least address the war, even if it is unlikely to take the same measures adopted against Russia at the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine, which led the sport's governing body to ban Russian riders from all UCI international calendar events. The ban was then revoked in 2023.

"We need to see concrete action from our governing body to position the world of cycling on the right side and to show awareness of what is happening in Gaza. We must demonstrate that as a cycling world we care about human rights and violations of international law," concludes Alessandro De Marchi, who still wears the yellow bracelet asking for truth for Giulio Regeni.

The Observer contacted the Israel-Premier Tech team, which stated that it could not comment on a "personal opinion".