Info about Team Israel-Premier Tech
Main sponsors: Sylvan Adams and Ron Baron as patrons, Premier Tech
Industry: Private assets, packaging systems
Manager: Kjell Carlström
Sports Director: Rik Verbrugghe (Conductor), Rene Andrle, Steve Bauer, Claudio Cozzi, Dirk Demol, Zak Dempster, Gordon Fraser, Oscar Guerrero, Dror Pekatch, Nicki Sörensen, Eric Van Lancker
Current team bike: Factor Ostro VAM
Current jersey
Team Israel-Premier Tech: Chasing the stage win
"We are on a mission," says team owner Sylvan Adams. The real estate billionaire with Israeli roots not only wants to promote domestic cycling with the team, but also to be part of the Tour de France also promote the country. "We want to show the real face of Israel. We are not in a war zone," says Adams.
Together with team founder Ron Baron, an investment banker, he already secured the launch of the Giro d'Italia to Israel. At the end of 2019, Adams, who celebrated a number of cycling successes in the Masters class himself, picked up the World Tour licence that had become available to the then Katusha team - and has been part of cycling's premier league with his team ever since.
The goal for the third Tour participation is the first stage win. "We have the best chances on individual stages, as we don't have a clear candidate for the overall classification. Jakob Fuglsang and Michael Woods are riders for any terrain," says team manager Kjell Carlström. In addition, Guy Niv is one of the four Israeli riders in the Tour squad. Also on board is Chris Froomewho, after a serious crash in 2019, was recently far removed from the form with which he once won the Tour four times. Rick Zabel, who last competed in the Giro d'Italia, will not be at the start of the Tour of France this year.
The Tour de France line-up of Israel-Premier Tech with start numbers
191 Chris Froome
192 Guillaume Boivin
193 Simon Clarke
194 Jakob Fuglsang
195 Guy Niv
196 Hugo Houle
197 Krists Neilands
198 Michael Woods
The captain
Michael Woods is back in the environment in which his cycling career once began. The Canadian was initially a middle-distance runner, but had to give up the sport in his early 20s due to injury. He then worked as a bank employee and rode for small regional cycling teams in Canada before his coach at the time, Paulo Saldanha, advised him to give it a go as a professional - at the age of 27.
Today, Saldanha is Performance Manager at Israel-Premier Tech. He also brought Woods together with Sylvan Adams, who became his sponsor. In 2016, Woods made the leap to the World Tour with Team EF Pro Cycling, where he established himself as a climber and won two stages of the Tour of Spain as well as bronze at the World Championships.
He finally switched to his sponsor's team for the 2021 season. "Sylvan and Paulo are the reason why I am a professional cyclist today. I want to repay that trust," says Woods.
A portrait of the Tour de France teams
- AG2R-CITROËN TEAM
- Alpecin-Deceuninck
- Arkea-Samsic
- Astana-Qazaqstan
- Bahrain-Victorious
- B&B Hotels-KTM
- BikeExchange-Jayco
- Bora-Hansgrohe
- Cofidis
- Team DSM
- EF Education EasyPost
- Groupama-FDJ
- Ineos Grenadiers
- Intermarche-Wanty-Gobert
- Jumbo-Visma
- Lotto Soudal
- Movistar
- Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl
- TotalEnergies
- Trek-Segafredo
- UAE Team Emirates
18 World Tour teams at the start of the Tour de France
18 of the 22 teams competing in the Tour de France 2022 have a World Tour licence, which means they are both entitled and obliged to take part in the Tour of France. Four teams belong to the Professional Continental Teams, the second division of international cycling.
The Alpecin-Deceuninck and Arkea-Samsic teams qualified as the two best teams in this category last year; the two French teams B&B Hotels-KTM and TotalEnergies received a wildcard from Tour organiser ASO. With eight participants per team, the 2022 Tour de France peloton will comprise a total of 176 riders.
