Six Ineos Grenadiers team vehicles were vandalized and four people arrested on Sunday in Deinze, Belgium.

The vehicles were painted with the words "Ineos will fall" on the team's service course, described by some as "eco-terrorism."

The report did not specify what group the four adult suspects belonged to, but suggested that they were protesting a new chemical plant that Ineos is building in the port of Antwerp, which aims to make durable plastics from recycled raw materials.

The British team, sponsored as part of a marketing effort for Jim Ratcliffe's new SUV brand, has been targeted since Ineos replaced Sky as title sponsor in 2019.

Ineos is one of Europe's largest plastic manufacturers, and the petrochemical company has had to fend off accusations of "sportswashing" since it was announced as the team's sponsor.

Environmentalist anti-fracking groups have threatened to target the team in the 2019 Tour de Yorkshire because of Ineos' move to bring harmful shale gas drilling to the UK.