Israel – Premier Tech will start the 2022 season with ambitious goals as the team prepares for the next chapter after welcoming new co-title sponsor, Premier Tech.
At a virtual team presentation in Girona, Spain, Israel – Premier Tech management and riders outlined their seasons objectives, which include Grand Tour stage wins and a Monument victory, while improving on the team’s 10th place ranking in 2021.
After Itamar Einhorn’s historic Tour de Slovakia stage win in 2021, the team’s Israeli riders will be presented with more leadership opportunities in the coming season while, at the same time, the team continues to nurture the next generation of Israeli talent in Israel Cycling Academy.
Key highlights from the team presentation:
Sylvan Adams, co-owner:
“I am very excited to have Premier Tech on board. Jean is an old friend of mine, we share Quebec and Canadian roots together, we ride together and we have a common passion, which is cycling. Our discussions took some time. Jean wanted to make sure that the next move he made would be a permanent one. We have a contract for four years but our intention is to continue into the indefinite future. Together we will move in the right direction and put Israel and Canada on the map.”
Jean Bélanger, Premier Tech president and Chief Executive Officer:
“For Premier Tech, cycling is a real passion. Not only for me but of our company, for over 25 years now. It’s a real honor and privilege to join this team. Together we want to move it to the next level. For us, it’s important to be at the UCI WorldTour level and we have already for the last five years. This partnership is for at least the next four years, but four years is only the beginning. This team obviously has a solid foundation in Israel but it also has with Canada. We have five out of the six WorldTour Canadian riders and we have Canadians in the management. It may have taken a bit more time for the partnership to come together but we now have a structure that will enable to continue long into the future.”
Ron Baron, co-owner:
“It started as a dream from zero, and we are only getting started still, as Sylvan said. What we have now was unthinkable seven years ago, but we now we want to continue to develop. With Sylvan and Jean we can achieve that as now have another great partner in our dream. I am particularly excited about our continental team, Israel Cycling Academy, which I would argue is the best development program we have had since the beginning. There are 16 riders, of which eight are Israeli, and we want to be able to offer a contract in the UCI WorldTour team. We saw Itamar Einhorn beating Peter Sagan in a race in 2021 and that was history. We want to see more of that.”
Kjell Calström, General Manager:
“I’ve seen the development over the past five years and it has been a great path. We are an ambitious team, and we challenge our riders to perform even better. We race for victories and this is something that we will continue to do in 2022. In general, I hope to see many stage victories, especially in the Grand Tours. One of our big objectives is also to give our Israeli riders more opportunities. Itamar Einhorn had a great season last year, and I am looking for to see him performing and I hope the three other Israelis will hopefully have a great season too.”
Chris Froome:
“Last year the team took a noticeable step up, and with Premier Tech coming on board this year, there is momentum and positive energy. Everyone has come here keen to work hard with some ambitious goals. I am really looking forward to being a part of that and seeing the team keep stepping up. Towards mid-December, I picked up a bit of a knee injury which forced me to take a bit of time off. My season preparations have definitely been delayed but I am happy to be here and training with the guys. I will probably start racing a little bit later and although I’m not feeling any pain at the moment, I’ll have to start with a bit of a slower progression into this first part of the season.”
Itamar Einhorn:
“Winning a professional race was a huge achievement and a huge motivation to keep on going, also because the victory came so late in the season. I am really looking forward to the 2022 season. I am ambitious. I raced the Vuelta a España last year and it really taught me a lot and helped me to win in Slovakia because I had good legs after that. Of course, the Tour de France is a goal for me, whether that is this year or in the next years. That’s my goal.”
Giacomo Nizzolo:
“I feel home already here after the first camp in Israel. It was a very warm welcome from the team and there his a great atmosphere. I really think we can achieve great goals. From my side, the mains goals are to be good in the Classics firstly and try to win stage victories at the Giro d’Italia. Last year I got the chance the race the whole Classics season, and I am looking forward to returning there.”
Jakub Fuglsang:
“I think I have a similar role to what I had before in my career up until now and that is to bring results. In addition, I hope I can share my experience with younger riders, especially with the Israeli riders, and help the team grow. In terms of my goals, I want to prove that I still have it in me to win, especially after last year’s season. Strade Bianche will be the first big goal for me, and I will do the Tour de Flanders as well, which is something I have been asking to do for a longtime.”
Mike Woods:
“When I came over last year, Sylvan Adams and Ron Baron already created the ideal circumstances for me. This year, it is even more of Canada’s team, especially now with Premier Tech on board. We now have even more Canadians on the team, five riders as Hugo Houle joined us too, and that will be an inspiration for Canadian cycling. Having a two-pronged approach can make a huge difference and I am convinced we can win a Monument this year. We are a very strong team and given the fact there are so many strong guys nowadays in the Classics, having someone like Jakub on board will be a huge advantage.”
