On Monday, after six months of Israel waging war and laying siege to Gaza in hopes of defeating Hamas militants, a member of the Gaza Sunbirds Paracycling Team has escaped from the devastated region to compete in 2024 Paralympic qualifying races. While the team and many cyclists worldwide praise this action, 4X Tour de France champion Chris Froome’s wife, Michelle Froome, opted to post a series of hateful anti-muslim comments, as reported by Cycling Weekly.
Froome’s comments bring unwanted attention and risk to her husband’s current team, Israel Premier Tech, owned by Israeli billionaire and multiple UCI Gran Fondo World champion Sylvan Adams. Due to anti-Israeli protests worldwide, the team has been forced to step-up security measures, including armed guards, checking vehicles for explosives and removing the world “Israel” from all clothing and team cars.
At press time, Israel Premier Tech has not issued a statement on Froome’s social media posts, but others in the cycling community were quick to denounce her comments, including economist and cyclist Armed Sarhan.
Photo Credit: Facebook/gazasunbirds, X-Twitter/michellefroome
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