It must be noted that the team did not suffer greatly from relegation as it received invitations to single-week World Tour stage races in 2023, a decision made by the UCI due to the upheavals caused by the Covid epidemic. And it was awarded a wildcard entry to the 2023 Giro d’Italia after both Lotto-Dstny and TotalEnergies decided not to take part. It was also invited to the Tour de France in 2023 and 2024 and to the 2024 Vuelta a España.
Fortunately, Israel–Premier Tech had a marvelous 2024, with 29 victories, including wins in La Flèche Wallonne, the Santos Tour Down Under and the Tour of Britain (all by Stephen Williams), the Giro del Veneto (Corbin Strong), the Tour of Rwanda and the Tour of Taiwan (Joseph Blackmore), as well as a stage of the Vuelta a España (Michael Woods) and a stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné (Derek Gee) – to name just a few.
Williams’s win in the Tour Down Under was the team’s first World Tour GC win and his La Flèche Wallonne triumph was its first-ever World Tour one-day success. So, yes, it was a very good year, despite being a second-tier team. After such a strong showing, it’s little wonder that Israel–Premier Tech has not been overly active on the transfer market. But it did make two moves to help it seal its promotion next year. It acquired the impressive 33-year-old Czech Jan Hirt from Soudal–Quick Step and another veteran rider who has won Grand Tour stages, the 32-year-old Alexey Lutsenko, from Astana Qazaqstan.
They join a team that is already top-heavy with experienced riders, such as the 34-year-old two-time Canadian time trial champion Hugo Houle, the 34-year-old George Bennett and the 38-year-old Woods. And then there is the forgotten, and much maligned, four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, who is retiring at the end of 2025 and will want to go out with guns blazing.
Froome never regained his best form after crashing in France in 2019 during a reconnaissance ride of the Critérium du Dauphiné, when he attempted to blow his nose while riding at 60kph (37mph). He has not won a significant race since then. The Kenya-born Froome is 39 years old and would surely love to play some part in Israel–Premier Tech’s return to the top.
But going by this year’s results, it’s hard to see what role he could play other than domestique. However, recently retired sprint legend (and former Froome teammate at Team Sky) Mark Cavendish was also 39 when he won his 35th Tour de France stage and broke the record of Tour stage wins he had shared with Eddy Merckx. So, anything is still possible.
Realistically, next year Israel–Premier Tech need only come close to what it has accomplished in 2024 to be guaranteed a return to the upper tier of cycling. And it could actually do better. At 27, Gee is just reaching his best years and has been showing great improvement in his climbing, finishing ninth in the Tour GC and third in the Critérium.
In addition, Strong is only 24 and is becoming an excellent sprinter, finishing a close third to Kaden Groves (Alpecin-Deceuninck) and Wout van Aert (Visma– Lease a Bike) in a stage of the Vuelta; and he was just pipped by Jonathan Milan (Lidl- Trek) and Jasper Philipsen (Soudal–Quick Step) in a stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico. And the 24-year-old Ethan Vernon has developed into a handy all-rounder and reliable stage winner.
At 28, Williams has had his best year and is now an established leader in the team. He has been signed until 2028, and will be one of the team’s key riders, along with Gee, until then. The 21-year-old Blackmore looks to be a star in the making. In addition to the wins in the two multi-stage races cited above, he also won the Tour de l’Avenir and the U23 Liège-Bastogne- Liège this year, which is quite a Palmares already for such a young rider.
In other words, Israel–Premier Tech looks ready not only for promotion to the WorldTour, but also for continued success when it gets there.
