Premier Tech signs on as co-title sponsor at Israel Start-Up Nation
Team owned by Sylvain Adams will be known as Israel-Premier Tech for 2022.
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Israel Start-Up Nation will become Israel-Premier Tech in 2022.
Following lengthy negotiations, the Canadian company signed a deal to become a co-title sponsor at the WorldTour squad for this season. To go with the new name, the team has unveiled its new kit, which features a white jersey with a blue geometric pattern.
Premier Tech was previously a co-title sponsor at Astana but severed ties with the team at the end of last season, due to disagreements about the future of the squad. The Kazakh team remains in the WorldTour peloton and is now named Astana-Qazaqstan.
Also read:
- Premier Tech in negotiations to join new WorldTour partner
- Sylvain Adams confirms contact with Premier Tech
- How Israel Start-Up Nation’s Sylvan Adams helped orchestrate the daring rescue of Afghan cyclist
“With the presence of all four Israelis, and five of the six Canadians competing in the UCI WorldTour, this team is, in many ways, a reflection of my two nationalities. As a Canada-based, international company, Premier Tech is a natural partner for us, and we are the natural home for Premier Tech,” team owner Sylvain Adams said.
“I am proud that Jean Bélanger and Premier Tech have joined our project. Premier Tech will help us reach the lofty goals we’ve set for this team, and I am thrilled to welcome Premier Tech as a co-title sponsor and unveil our new jersey today.”
In October last year, Adams — who is Canadian-born — told VeloNews that he had been in talks with Premier Tech but said that company president Jean Bélanger was “taking his time” with the process. The company was also linked with Qhubeka-NextHash and BikeExchange at times, but negotiations fell through with both teams.
“When it came time to decide Premier Tech’s next chapter in UCI WorldTour cycling, we were determined to take our time to find the best possible fit for a long-term partnership,” Bélanger said. “From the moment I started conversations with Sylvan Adams, whom I have known for many years, it was clear we saw things in common and shared a vision. Through the course of our discussions and interactions between Sylvan and myself, as well as other leaders from the team, that feeling was reinforced and led us to make this announcement today.
“The team already has a solid Canadian presence as well as a strong international focus, which was a crucial factor for a company like Premier Tech that has some 5000 team members in 28 countries and a commercial presence in more than a hundred. We are all very excited here at Premier Tech to hit the ground running in 2022 as Israel-Premier Tech in what, I am sure, will be a successful year for our team.”
Israel-Premier Tech has five Canadian riders in Michael Woods, James Piccoli, Alexander Cataford, Guillaume Boivin, and new signing Hugo Houle, who joins from Astana. It also has four Israelis in Itamar Einhorn, Omer Goldstein, Guy Niv, and Guy Sagiv.
In addition to Houle, the team signed Jakob Fuglsang from Astana, Giacomo Nizzolo, Corbin Strong, and Taj Jones for 2022.