According to BBC, Israel-Premier Tech team began racing in modified jerseys which did not display their team name on Saturday. Israel's military launched a campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 251 others were taken hostage. At least 63,633 people have been killed in Gaza since then, according to the territory's health ministry.
Lidl-Trek rider Pedersen earned his first victory of this year's race with a sprint on the home straight. Pedersen burst past Italy's Marco Frigo on the final stretch of what was classed as a medium mountain stage to seal victory in four hours, two minutes and 13 seconds. Frigo, riding for Israel-Premier Tech, the team targeted by the protests, came in third behind Orluis Aular of Venezuela. Pedersen's team-mates worked hard for him in the day's large breakaway to give him his chance to win the stage.
"The boys were working so hard to make it possible," Pedersen said. "In the end, it makes it even nicer to win when everyone is looking at us, everyone knew our plan, and still we succeed. When Frigo went [with] 700 to 800 metres to go it was perfect, because he provided a leadout. I was closing him slowly and at the corner it was time to open the sprint." The peloton, featuring Pedersen's compatriot Vingegaard and the other main contenders, finished 13-and-a-half minutes after the winner crossed the line.
After a rest day on Monday, the race resumes with stage 16 on Tuesday, a 167.9km with another medium mountain stretch from Poio to Castro de Herville.