Israel–Premier Tech () is a

UCI ProSeries The UCI ProSeries is the second tier men's elite road cycling tour. It was inaugurated in 2020. The series is placed below the UCI World Tour, but above the various regional UCI Continental Circuits. Development In December 2018, the UCI announc ...

cycling team founded in 2014 by

Ron Baron Ronald Stephen Baron (born 1943) (also known as Ron Baron) is an American mutual fund manager and investor. He is the founder of Baron Capital, an investment management firm. The New York City based firm manages the Baron Funds, which he also fo ...

and

Ran Margaliot Ran Margaliot (born July 18, 1988) is an Israeli former professional racing cyclist. After retiring, he was a team manager for from 2015 to 2018. Major results ;2004 : National Novice Road Championships ::1st Road race ::2nd Time trial In many ...

and based in Israel. The team competed as a

UCI World Tour The UCI WorldTour (2009–2010: ''UCI World Ranking'') is the premier men's elite road cycling tour, sitting above the UCI ProSeries and various regional UCI Continental Circuits. It refers to both the tour of 38 events and, until 2019, an ann ...

squad from 2020 - 2022 before being relegated to the

at the end of the 2022 season.

History

Israel Cycling Academy (2014–2019)

In November 2014, Ron Baron and Ran Margaliot launched the Israel Cycling Academy (ICA), with the aim of providing an opportunity for young and talented cyclists to compete in the international arena and launch their professional careers. This team was intended to provide inspiration, hope and faith to future generations of Israelis. The team's first victory came in the fourth stage of the

2015 Tour d'Azerbaïdjan The 2015 Tour d'Azerbaïdjan was a five-day cycling stage race that took place in Azerbaijan in May 2015, as the fourth edition of the Tour d'Azerbaïdjan. It was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour. The race included five ...

, won by

Daniel Turek Daniel Turek (born 19 January 1993 in Lanškroun) is a Czech cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . Major results ;2010 : 1st Time trial, National Junior Road Championships ;2012 : 3rd Time trial, National Under-23 Road Champi ...

. On 2 July 2015, the Israeli Road Racing Champion

Guy Sagiv Guy Sagiv ( he, גיא שגיב; born 5 December 1994) is an Israeli cyclist, who rides for UCI ProTeam . In May 2018, he was named in the startlist for the Giro d'Italia. Personal life He is in a relationship with Israeli cyclist Omer Shapira. ...

joined the ranks of ICA. In 2018, the team participated in a

cycling monument The Monuments are five classic cycle races generally considered to be the oldest, hardest and most prestigious one-day events in men's road cycling. They each have a long history and specific individual characteristics. They are currently the one-d ...

event for the first time –

2018 Milan-San Remo Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

, and in a

grand tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...

for the first time – the

2018 Giro d'Italia The 2018 Giro d'Italia was the 101st edition of the Giro d'Italia, one of cycling's Grand Tour races. The race started in Jerusalem on 4 May, with a individual time trial followed by two additional stages within Israel. After a rest day, there ...

. The Giro d’Italia opening stage took place in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

on 4 May 2018 – the first time in the Giro's 101 years of existence that it has started outside Europe. The Giro held its second and third stages in Israel before it continued onto European soil. The three stages raced in Israel attracted considerable interest from the Israeli public, with many thousands of Israelis lining up along the route and supporting the riders and especially the ICA home team. It was considered a significant success. ICA co-owner

Sylvan Adams Sylvan Adams ( he, סילבן אדמס; born November 1, 1958) is an Israeli-Canadian billionaire businessman and philanthropist. Background and career Adams was born and raised in Quebec City, Canada. He served for close to 25 years as presi ...

was the driving force behind the Giro's "Big Start" in Israel, having financed a significant part of the race budget. ICA's best performance in the Giro was recorded in the 18th stage, when its Spanish rider Ruben Plaza finished in second place. Three days later when the team completed the Giro in Rome, Guy Sagiv became the first-ever Israeli cyclist to finish a grand tour. In 2019, in its fifth season of existence, ICA enlarged its team roster to 30 riders and set up a racing program that has exceeded 250 racing days all around the globe. The team was invited to take part in the Giro d’Italia In May 2019 and will make its first appearance in the Tour of California. The team owners, Ron Baron and Sylvan Adams, have set the team's goal as participation in the world's biggest races including the Tour de France, in order to continue inspiring and developing a new generation of Israeli cyclists. In January 2019 the team opened three cycling special youth programs in Israel and formed a youth cycling team in the Arab village of Shfaram. To further develop young Israeli cyclists, ICA operates a development team with a select group of under-23 riders. They have also established a special partnership with one of the leading French amateur teams – Côte d’Armor – which enables its young development team riders to race in France and gain valuable experience overseas.

Israel Start-Up Nation (2020–2021)

In October 2019, completed the takeover of

team Katusha-Alpecin, including its UCI WorldTour license. As a result, was due to become a UCI World Tour team, pending UCI approval. The UCI approved the team's promotion to World Tour status in December of that year, and the team subsequently changed its name to Israel Start-Up Nation, while the former name became the name of the team's continental level development squad. In July 2020, it was announced that seven-time Grand Tour winner

Chris Froome Christopher Clive Froome ɹɪs fɹuːm (born 20 May 1985) is a Kenyan/British Road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . He has won seven Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours: four editions of the Tour de ...

would join the team for the 2021 season. In August and September 2020, took part in the

2020 Tour de France The 2020 Tour de France was the 107th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's three Grand Tours. Originally scheduled to start on 27 June 2020, it was postponed until 29 August 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France. The race began ...

. On 11 October 2020, the team won a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...

stage for the first time when British rider

Alex Dowsett Alex Edward Albert Dowsett (born 3 October 1988) is a former British professional road racing cyclist, who rode for UCI WorldTeam . He was a time trial specialist, and in 2015, he broke track cycling's world hour record by , with a distance of ...

won Stage 8 of the

2020 Giro d'Italia The 2020 Giro d'Italia was a road cycling stage race that took place between 3 and 25 October, after initially being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was originally to have taken place from 9 to 31 May 2020, as the 103rd edition of th ...

. They won another Grand Tour stage 11 days later when Irish rider

Dan Martin Daniel Martin may refer to: People *Dan Martin (actor) (born 1951), American actor * Dan Martin (drama educator) (born 1953), American academic *Dan Martin (cyclist) (born 1986), Irish road bicycle racer * Dan Martin (footballer) (born 1986), Briti ...

won Stage 3 of the

2020 Vuelta a España The 2020 Vuelta a España was the 75th edition of the Vuelta a España, one of cycling's three grand tours. It was won for the second consecutive year by Primož Roglič of . The race was originally scheduled to be held from 14 August to 6 Sep ...

, a result that also took him up from third to second in the

General classification The general classification (or the GC) in road bicycle racing is the category that tracks overall times for riders in multi- stage races. Each stage will have a stage winner, but the overall winner in the GC is the rider who has the fastest cumula ...

; he eventually finished fourth in that classification. On 4 December 2020, the team announced Cherie Pridham as a new sports director, the first woman to assume the role on a men's World Tour team. In the

2021 Giro d'Italia The 2021 Giro d'Italia was the 104th edition of the Giro, a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race. It started on 8 May and finished on 30 May. On 26 May 2019, the race organisers RCS Sport originally announced that the start of the 2021 Giro ...

in May, Italian rider Alessandro De Marchi briefly wore the

maglia rosa The general classification in the Giro d'Italia is the most important classification of the Giro d'Italia, which determines who is the overall winner. It is therefore considered more important than secondary classifications as the points classi ...

as leader of the general classification after Stages 4 and 5, while Dan Martin won Stage 17 and finished tenth

overall Overalls, also called bib-and-brace overalls or dungarees, are a type of garment usually used as protective clothing when working. The garments are commonly referred to as a "pair of overalls" by analogy with "pair of trousers". Overalls were ...

, and

Davide Cimolai Davide Cimolai (born 13 August 1989) is an Italian professional road and track bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Pordenone, Cimolai has competed as a professional since the 2010 season, competing for the team ...

finished second in the

Points classification The points classification is a secondary award category in road bicycle racing. Points are given for high finishes and, in some cases, for winning sprints at certain places along the route, most often called ''intermediate sprints''. The points cl ...

. The team itself finished as one of three teams with no penalty points in the Fair Play classification. However, tie-breakers meant that it finished third in the classification, as Dan Martin's tenth-place finish in the general classification was bettered by

Tobias Foss Tobias Svendsen Foss (born 25 May 1997 in Vingrom) is a Norwegian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career In July 2019, it was announced that Foss would join UCI WorldTeam on a two-year contract from 2020. In August 2019, Foss b ...

finishing ninth for and by

Damiano Caruso Damiano Caruso (born 12 October 1987) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam . Caruso was also the 2008 under-23 Italian national champion for the road race. He competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics, ...

finishing second for .

Israel–Premier Tech (since 2022)

Israel Premier Tech - Tour de France 2023 A

Ahead of the 2022 season, the team announced that Canadian tech company Premier Tech would join as a co-title sponsor. The season was largely disappointing for IPT, as they struggled for results and faced the threat of relegation from the

. Canadian rider

Hugo Houle Hugo Houle (born 27 September 1990) is a Canadian professional cyclist, who rides for UCI WorldTeam . Career Born in Sainte-Perpétue, Centre-du-Québec, Quebec, Houle began racing triathlons, aged 10, alongside his brother, before focussing on ...

provided a moment of success with his maiden

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consist ...

and

stage victory, after which an emotional Houle dedicated the win to his late brother. Australian rider

Simon Clarke Simon Clarke may refer to: *Simon Clarke (footballer) (born 1971), English footballer * Simon Clarke (politician) (born 1984), British Conservative MP * Simon Clarke (cyclist) (born 1986), Australian road and former track cyclist *Simon Clarke (rug ...

also claimed a stage victory during the race. The team was relegated from the World Tour at the end of the 2022 season after finishing 20th in the points standings for the 2020 - 2022 qualification cycle. The top 18 teams qualified for the 2023 - 2025 cycle, meaning that from 2023 the team will drop down a division and race under a

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

licence. Among non-World Tour teams, IPT finished third in the 2022 one-year points list behind and , meaning it also missed out on wildcards for 2023 World Tour stage races but would receive entries to all World Tour one-day events. However, the UCI subsequently announced that IPT would receive invitations to single-week World Tour stage races in 2023, a decision made due to "three years of significant upheaval due to the global pandemic". IPT was awarded a wildcard entry to the

2023 Giro d'Italia The 2023 Giro d'Italia was the 106th edition of the Giro d'Italia, a three-week Grand Tour cycling stage race. The race started on 6 May in Fossacesia and finished on 28 May in Rome. There were 3 individual time trial stages and 6 stages longer ...

after both Lotto-Dstny and Team TotalEnergies declined to take part and was also invited to the

2023 Tour de France The 2023 Tour de France will be the 110th edition of the Tour de France. It will start in Bilbao, Spain on 1 July and end with the final stage at Champs-Élysées, Paris on 23 July. Teams 22 teams are scheduled to take part in the race. All 1 ...

, meaning that with the exception of the

Vuelta a España The Vuelta a España (; en, Tour of Spain) is an annual multi-stage bicycle race primarily held in Spain, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. Inspired by the success of the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, the ...

their 2023 race programme will be largely unaffected by their relegation. On July 9, Michael Woods won stage 9 of the

on a very intense mountain day with a final steep climb to Puy de Dôme. This is Israel–Premier Tech’s third Tour de France victory, after two wins in 2022.