Teams & Riders Israel Premier Tech

[Leadbelly]

Fair play to Ackers. I didn't really think he was going to do much in this his first outing at the Tour, but he's racked up those placings.

Admittedly some other fast men have been in really poor form which no doubt made things a bit easier in all these sprint finales and even with that there are still faster guys out there. However he's been in good all round shape (getting involved with echelons/gravel) and has made these stages a bit less tortuous to follow.

The train is a bit of a work in progress. Some days were better than others. However Ackermann and Stewart had hardly done any sprints together previously, so that's not overly surprising. Anyway if Schwarzi moves on at the end of the year there's always the option to bring in somebody else to try and improve on things for 2025. Dunno who though.

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Aosta starts tomorrow for the devo guys.

Marti
Lima
Bental
Maris
Garcia

Very tough opposition and parcour. There should be a YouTube stream for all five stages.

 

[search]

Ackermann said he initially had his eyes on Thurday's stage, but now he fell a bit sick, so it may be more about getting to the Nice.

He looked like one of the best climbers among the sprinters so far, so would have been nice to see him giving it a go from a breakaway - eventhough those kind of riders usually don't get to win anyway in the end.

 

[Leadbelly]

Potential devo rider for 2025 Quintero is over this side of the Atlantic getting some experience on European roads.

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I think IPT/Verbrugghe pulled a few strings to get him a spot on a Belgian team and he didn't do too badly at the Junioren Rundfahrt - 25th, 19th and 16th on the three stages. Some more races coming up. One with a TT and a decent MTF would be nice to see how his level compares.

 

[Leadbelly]

Well yesterday was quite annoying.

Not so much the relegation as I didn't see an overhead shot and I guess he was partially responsible for the hard crash of Meeus (though I've read that some thought it harsh), but for how Strong was very isolated in the run-in. There was that late attack from Hagenes and a couple of others and there was no sign of Clarke or Teuns. Eventually Clarke did show up and did some important work, but the Kiwi could have done with some more help and maybe then he could have avoided getting into trouble.

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Decent sprint over in the Czech Tour from Einhorn. Not top opposition, but people like Molano and Lamperti aren't duds either and he had little help when it mattered again.

 

[Roku]

Well yesterday was quite annoying.

Not so much the relegation as I didn't see an overhead shot and I guess he was partially responsible for the hard crash of Meeus (though I've read that some thought it harsh), but for how Strong was very isolated in the run-in. There was that late attack from Hagenes and a couple of others and there was no sign of Clarke or Teuns. Eventually Clarke did show up and did some important work, but the Kiwi could have done with some more help and maybe then he could have avoided getting into trouble.

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Decent sprint over in the Czech Tour from Einhorn. Not top opposition, but people like Molano and Lamperti aren't duds either and he had little help when it mattered again.

They rode poorly throughout the week. Particularly on the stage to Roche en Andenne, three Israel on a group of seven (with Tesfatzion, Rota and a couple of other riders) and they did not pull. That's what lost them the race.

Compare that to Trentin who made the most of his abilities, anticipating, racking bonus seconds and managing to survive on the mid mountain stage...

 

[Leadbelly]

Not too shabby. We'll see how far into the race Strong goes. Is there much point keeping a fast man in the team past stage 5? Surely the organizers, which such a parcour, wouldn't stand in the way of them racing elsewhere after leaving early.

The blurb on the team site talks about seeing how the land lies after stage 9 in regards to Riccitello/Woods/Bennett. A stage win would be better I think than a lower top-ten on GC if given the choice.

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Bit quiet on the incoming transfer front.

Ciro (or was it Benson) said the Lutsenko deal was done, but no announcement and if Astana are newly moneyed is there a possibility he still might stay?

Hirt was rumoured a while back, but nothing since then. Louvel has been linked more recently - good rider, but is he the type the team needs?

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Deciding who's going to be leaving doesn't get any easier. Hollyman, Sagiv and Schwarzi seem obvious.

There are signs of life from Fugly. Decent Tour in an all-round helper mode and that form has continued over to Pologne. The team will probably offer a much reduced contract which I don't think he'll accept. That's my guess anyway.

Frigo has, you may have noticed above, been selected for his second GT of the year. Surely that's a sign that he's valued and will get another year or two.

Clarke may be 38, but still seems an important helper/road captain. Another year or a part year up to and including the Giro (with Marti joining after)?

 

[aruipksni]

Not too shabby. We'll see how far into the race Strong goes. Is there much point keeping a fast man in the team past stage 5? Surely the organizers, which such a parcour, wouldn't stand in the way of them racing elsewhere after leaving early.

The blurb on the team site talks about seeing how the land lies after stage 9 in regards to Riccitello/Woods/Bennett. A stage win would be better I think than a lower top-ten on GC if given the choice.

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Bit quiet on the incoming transfer front.

Ciro (or was it Benson) said the Lutsenko deal was done, but no announcement and if Astana are newly moneyed is there a possibility he still might stay?

Hirt was rumoured a while back, but nothing since then. Louvel has been linked more recently - good rider, but is he the type the team needs?

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Deciding who's going to be leaving doesn't get any easier. Hollyman, Sagiv and Schwarzi seem obvious.

There are signs of life from Fugly. Decent Tour in an all-round helper mode and that form has continued over to Pologne. The team will probably offer a much reduced contract which I don't think he'll accept. That's my guess anyway.

Frigo has, you may have noticed above, been selected for his second GT of the year. Surely that's a sign that he's valued and will get another year or two.

Clarke may be 38, but still seems an important helper/road captain. Another year or a part year up to and including the Giro (with Marti joining after)?

there are 11 riders with no contracts : i split them to 3 groups

canadian-israelies are generally protected (unless there's no room )
BOIVIN, EINHORN, HOULE, SAGIV

still might be ok but old:
CLARKE, VAN ASBROECK, FUGLSANG

poor / no results:
HOLLYMAN, WÜRTZ SCHMIDT, FRIGO, SCHWARZMANN

so its really depends on the number of signings the team will make, and how many room will left for current riders.

 

[Leadbelly]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1825087686413099049

View: https://twitter.com/IsraelPremTech/status/1825087686413099049


Israel sportingly deserved an invite last year, but this season.... (mind you Japan got invites for several years and did nothing).

Blackmore wasn't in great shape at ARoN recently, so not sure it's wise to expect much here. Maybe Marti is the better bet as while he was off the pace a bit in July at Aosta, that might not be a bad thing if he was peaking for this race instead.

 

[Leadbelly]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1825958197284516081

View: https://twitter.com/IsraelPremTech/status/1825958197284516081


Good legs from both of them today on a type of climb that isn't their true forte. Riccitello showed one of his weaknesses though with bad positioning going into the concrete steep bit. Had to go faster than the Roglic grp just to get back on.

Woods for the record suffered an untimely mech.

 

[Leadbelly]

Blackmore wasn't in great shape at ARoN recently, so not sure it's wise to expect much here.

I don't mind being wrong in this case.

View: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/xj9hYsb5FTg

 

[search]

Woods for the record suffered an untimely mech.

could open the door to try something today, though, I guess. Bennett was interviewed in the Cycling Podcast, and said the mechanical was particularly annoying because "Woods is flying at the moment".

But unfortunately he is not exactly known for being good at making a breakaway.

 

[Leadbelly]

Woo Hoo.

Nice (and realistic) interview with the l'Avenir winner on DV.

Le « plus grand accomplissement » de Joseph Blackmore - Actualité - DirectVelo

Le « plus grand accomplissement » de Joseph Blackmore : La montée du Finestre ressemblait à une course contre-la-montre pour Joseph Blackmore. Et à la fin, le Britannique a sauvé...

www.directvelo.com

"It's my greatest achievement, to succeed on a big climb like that... I'm not the best climber in the race, that was clear today, but I had to give 100% and test myself. I'm really happy ," he whispered on the official podium.

"He (Torres) is the best climber in the race. When you race like yesterday with good team tactics and commitment, it's possible, it was a great collective effort to win the race. I had to do my best to keep the jersey and I succeeded ." It was indeed this coup de force from the day before, on the road to Condove, which finally allowed him to climb onto the highest step of the podium this Saturday.

"I think I just like racing, it wasn't tactical in the climb, it was maximum effort. Yesterday with the breakaway, it was instinctive. I take the opportunities when they present themselves.............I think my style is good for week-long races with explosive stages and for punchers, or with breakaways like yesterday. I like it when it's raced like that. I think in the future week-long races will suit me well" . Especially since he found answers to his questions."We had to discover new limits and I think that's been done ," he laughs.

Obviously he wasn't even on the same page as Torres when it came to these big climbs, but it's not like the rest of the opposition are total scrubs and he beat them on the climb yesterday.

Quite excited to see how he develops and gets on in his career.

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As guessed the Israelis did nothing really at the race. Maybe on a different edition with some more intermediate stages Faingezicht might have been able to show himself a bit more. However he's the only one of the current U23 crop that seems to have much chance of moving up in the future (not counting Tene who isn't U23 anymore).

I do see quite a few Israeli names (Edinger, Ramon etc) cropping up in junior races these days, so maybe the future will bring a bit more success.

Roei Edinger

Roei Edinger is a 18 year old cyclist from Israel (born May 9th 2006), who currently rides for WP de Molenspurters Meulebeke U19.

firstcycling.com

Omer Ramon

Omer Ramon is a 17 year old cyclist from Israel (born June 5th 2007).

firstcycling.com

Speaking of juniors, Quintero seems to be enjoying himself in Belgium. I have no idea of the level of the races, but he picked up his first podium the other day.

Juan Quintero Osorno

Juan Quintero Osorno is a 17 year old cyclist from Colombia (born September 2nd 2006).

firstcycling.com

 

[Leadbelly]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1828859578072592553

View: https://twitter.com/IsraelPremTech/status/1828859578072592553


Frigo showing his worth again.

Some time regained back in GC today for Bennett after a few unfortunate time losses and if he'd stayed with the peloton on this stage he'd probably have ended up losing a bit more anyway so maybe not a bad choice. As I said above though, I'd rather a stage win than a lower top-ten (but either will do!).

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Confirmation of Hirt's signing.

Israel – Premier Tech welcomes Jan Hirt from 2025 - Israel — Premier Tech Pro Cycling Team

The Czech rider - a Giro d'Italia stage winner and top-10 finisher - will strengthen IPT from January 2025.

israelpremiertech.com

My main goal will be to strengthen the team in the Grand Tours

So helping Gee at the Tour and getting his own at chance at the Giro seems a likely scenario.

 

[Leadbelly]

Well the team got that stage win. There was a bit of good fortune involved with the UAE duo crashing out, but they'd been on the receiving end of some bad luck too, so it kinda evens out.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1831270092048400608

View: https://twitter.com/IsraelPremTech/status/1831270092048400608


Woods is now out though, Riccitello as we can tell from yesterday isn't at 100%, Bennett's GC hopes disappeared in a puff and hasn't been seen since. That pretty much leaves us with Strong today (putting someone in the break would be a really good idea though) and Frigo tomorrow as realistic opportunities for another result.

The Italian got his deserved contract extension btw.

 

[Roku]

I guess Boivin, Einhorn and Houle are staying. Louvel is confirmed to join the team.

That would take the team to 26.

I would expect Pierre Andre Coté to join the team and one between Van Asbroeck, Clarke and Schwarzmann to stay. That would move the team to 28 riders.

Hollyman, Mads Wurtz and Guy Sagiv (he has barely ridden this year) should be out. Fuglsang probably heading to Astana.

 

[yaco]

Woods won a stage at the 2023 TDF and at the 2024 Vuelta. Yet, in both races, he was fairly anonymous, except for the two stage victories. he strikes at the right time.

 

[Leadbelly]

Woods won a stage at the 2023 TDF and at the 2024 Vuelta. Yet, in both races, he was fairly anonymous, except for the two stage victories. he strikes at the right time.

As time as gone on, he just seems to have become more and more a one-trick pony. Great on super steep gradients, but limited elsewhere (finds it difficult to get in breaks/no diesel power on lesser percentages/lost most of his punch) and even that one big strength comes with caveats (he doesn't like fighting for position going into the short climbs).

Still two big wins in two years ain't so bad. He can just be a bit frustrating at times.

 

[search]

I guess Boivin, Einhorn and Houle are staying. Louvel is confirmed to join the team.

I was about to say that I wouldn't be surprised if Houle or Boivin retired soon, but Houle has now been confirmed for another two years indeed

Hugo Houle set to stay with Israel – Premier Tech through to 2026 - Israel — Premier Tech Pro Cycling Team

After three seasons with Israel – Premier Tech, Hugo Houle has signed a two-year contract extension to see him in IPT colours until 2026. The 33-year-old has achieved career-best results with IPT, including his memorable Tour de France stage win in 2022, making it an easy decision to put pen to...

israelpremiertech.com

 

[aruipksni]

IPT can also downgrade rider (if he accept of course) to the development team. last year they tried it with Goldstein but it didn't work (he decided to move to Andorra with his girlfriend and open a mountain bike business there or something similar) , but perhaps other rider will not mind it, and if Boivin will retire he might stay in the team as part of the stuff.

 

[Leadbelly]

Speaking of the development team....

https://twitter.com/x/status/1832355220141081057

View: https://twitter.com/IsraelPremTech/status/1832355220141081057


This final month or so of racing is important for the team actually I think. A top-3 ranking in the European CT "league" will give them auto-invites next year to all .2 races in the continent. The calendar has felt a bit light this year (whether by design or organizers not wanting them I dunno) and this would enable them to pick a calendar tailor made for their squad. A few more stage races would be nice.

According to the UCI and PCS, they're currently leading with a healthy advantage (probably insurmountable if correct) over Felt/St. Michel/ATT. First Cycling though does have them in third and only just ahead of ATT. A lot depends on who is right.

Of course the team's points have been really skewed by, the no longer present, Blackmore (and Cote to a lesser degree). However they've also had to accommodate guys from the main team dropping down and being leaders in races (with their points ofc not counting). Injuries and illness have also affected Kurits/Van Tricht/Lima(?)/Maris(?).

Hopefully there'll be a fair few new faces in 2025 what with 4(?) moving up and maybe that many or more being let go. Only know of the (unconfirmed) Quintero and Pareta so far.

 

[saunaking]

As time as gone on, he just seems to have become more and more a one-trick pony. Great on super steep gradients, but limited elsewhere (finds it difficult to get in breaks/no diesel power on lesser percentages/lost most of his punch) and even that one big strength comes with caveats (he doesn't like fighting for position going into the short climbs).

Still two big wins in two years ain't so bad. He can just be a bit frustrating at times.

He's old as dirt. A fantastic stage-hunter.

 

[Leadbelly]

It's all been downhill since ToB........

Bemer Cyclassics - Only Hofstetter in the front group. Was Ackermann involved in one of the crashes?

Canadian double-header - Strong DNFed Quebec with stomach issues and Williams was awol in both races. Woods did as well as could be expected in Montreal tbf.

A slew of one-day northern semi-classics/sprints - A few top-tens, but the sprints have been awful in the main. Today especially at Gooikse Pilj took the biscuit with 4-5 sprinters in the team and TVA the best finisher in 14th with the rest nowhere.

Roll on October and hopefully an upturn in fortune.

 

[aruipksni]

It's all been downhill since ToB........

Bemer Cyclassics - Only Hofstetter in the front group. Was Ackermann involved in one of the crashes?

Canadian double-header - Strong DNFed Quebec with stomach issues and Williams was awol in both races. Woods did as well as could be expected in Montreal tbf.

A slew of one-day northern semi-classics/sprints - A few top-tens, but the sprints have been awful in the main. Today especially at Gooikse Pilj took the biscuit with 4-5 sprinters in the team and TVA the best finisher in 14th with the rest nowhere.

Roll on October and hopefully an upturn in fortune.

i think they are now mostly testing the guys without contract, and the guys from the development team for the left places in the pro team, and also it seems all the teams still sending their top guns even now, and even for small obscure races, its a sign for what's is going to come next year, when there will be no easy points to grab and weak fields like they had in Tob for example.

 

[Leadbelly]

Speaking of the development team....

This final month or so of racing is important for the team actually I think. A top-3 ranking in the European CT "league" will give them auto-invites next year to all .2 races in the continent. The calendar has felt a bit light this year (whether by design or organizers not wanting them I dunno) and this would enable them to pick a calendar tailor made for their squad. A few more stage races would be nice.

According to the UCI and PCS, they're currently leading with a healthy advantage (probably insurmountable if correct) over Felt/St. Michel/ATT. First Cycling though does have them in third and only just ahead of ATT. A lot depends on who is right.

One contender for this competition that I didn't mention above was Lidl-Trek Devo and of course over the ensuing weeks they've picked up a lot of points via Soderqvist and Behrens. That's more than enough to put them in first place. However the likely and unfortunate demise of Felt means that the equation kinda stays the same for IPT Devo with only a couple of races left.

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Not a lot to write home about from the Worlds. Blackmore the only one to really be in contention in any of the races.

The juniors was probably the next best with all 3 potential riders (Edinger, Quintero and Ramon) finishing the race in biblical conditions. Edinger was the best placed in 43rd. I was hoping for a bit better from the Colombian, but he was involved in one of those early crashes and never made it back to the front peloton and it turns out he fractured his ankle in that crash.

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The other bits of recent news are Fugly looking likely to sign a new 1-yr deal (not so keen on that) and the departure of Verbrugghe. It seems rather an abrupt departure. The team release said his "responsibilities will be reallocated under a revised management structure". So I'm guessing they won't be bringing someone new in. Maybe Bewley will get a bigger role as he seems to have been involved with a lot of the success this year.

 

[aruipksni]

One contender for this competition that I didn't mention above was Lidl-Trek Devo and of course over the ensuing weeks they've picked up a lot of points via Soderqvist and Behrens. That's more than enough to put them in first place. However the likely and unfortunate demise of Felt means that the equation kinda stays the same for IPT Devo with only a couple of races left.

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Not a lot to write home about from the Worlds. Blackmore the only one to really be in contention in any of the races.

The juniors was probably the next best with all 3 potential riders (Edinger, Quintero and Ramon) finishing the race in biblical conditions. Edinger was the best placed in 43rd. I was hoping for a bit better from the Colombian, but he was involved in one of those early crashes and never made it back to the front peloton and it turns out he fractured his ankle in that crash.

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The other bits of recent news are Fugly looking likely to sign a new 1-yr deal (not so keen on that) and the departure of Verbrugghe. It seems rather an abrupt departure. The team release said his "responsibilities will be reallocated under a revised management structure". So I'm guessing they won't be bringing someone new in. Maybe Bewley will get a bigger role as he seems to have been involved with a lot of the success this year.

van Asbroek apparently extended for 2 years. most likely they will promote pier andre cote, i guess it is very likely they will re-sign all israelies-candians, left (boivian,einhorn,sagiv)), and that will round the list of riders for next year,