Israel-Premier Tech has announced its departure from the title sponsorship of the women’s cycling team, Israel-Premier Tech Roland. Starting in 2024, the team will be known as Roland Cycling Team, marking a new chapter in their journey. It’s something that had been rumoured in the final months of the 2023 season and was ultimately obvious once the lists provided by the UCI for the 2024 season were published. However, this is the first actual confirmation from those involved that the assumption was indeed correct.
The Israeli outfit shared on the X platform that the decision to part ways with Ruben Contreras, the team manager of Roland Cycling Team, was mutual. The split, effective after two years of partnership, stemmed from differing visions for the team’s future.
While Israel-Premier Tech is withdrawing from women’s cycling for the time being, they expressed an intention to return to the women’s peloton in the future. However, their focus for 2024 will shift to their men’s professional and development teams.
Roland Cycling Team’s journey began in 2018 as Cogeas-Mettler. The team stepped up to the Women’s WorldTour ahead of the 2022 cycling season. In February 2022, Premier Tech of Canada and Sylvan Adams, the driving force behind Israel-Premier Tech, joined the women’s team. Israel-Premier Tech followed suit in October of the same year.
For the upcoming season, Roland Cycling Team has already signed nine riders. Among them are Austria’s Anna Kiesenhofer, the reigning Olympic road champion, and the Dutch cyclist Sylvie Swinkels. Tamara Dronova and Antri Christoforou are also set to compete for the team in 2024.
