(San Sebastián (Spain)) Israel-Premier Tech took a beating last year.
Despite a very successful Tour de France, punctuated by two stage victories, the Israeli-Canadian squadron, weighed down by injuries, illnesses and an underperforming workforce, found itself in the catacombs of a new race in points introduced three years earlier by the International Cycling Union (UCI).
Result: Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) was one of the two teams relegated to the ProTeams category, in other words to the second division.
A slap in the face for Sylvan Adams and Jean Bélanger, proud and very successful businessmen, lovers and practitioners of cycling, investors in sport with a long-term vision. They are not used to playing second fiddle.
The presence of the formation at the Tour seemed to be hanging by a thread, especially in view of the vitriolic outings of the fiery Adams, who threatened the UCI with legal proceedings, judging his scoring system unfair, even more so in a context of “force majeure like the COVID-19 outbreak.
He even talked about organizing his own Tour de France!
Eventually, ASO offered one of its invitations to IPT, which showed up in the Basque Country with a strengthened and renewed roster, without its expensive aging star Chris Froome, who had left for a week of sightseeing in Israel.
A deserved place
On Sunday, in the second stage of the Tour, the IPT riders demonstrated why they deserved their place.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY IPT
Hugo Houle in front of his teammate Nick Schultz
In the Côte de Gurutze, the penultimate ascent, Guillaume Boivin showed up at the front of the peloton, with his teammates Michael Woods and Dylan Teuns in his wheel. Alongside him, the trains of Jumbo-Visma and UAE Team Emirates kept their respective leaders, Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogačar, warm.
Boivin then contributed to the placement of his leaders to the foot of the Jaizkibel, where he “punched [sa] time card…”.
The quality of the three breakaway riders – polka dot jersey Neilson Powless (EF), Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen (TotalEnergies) and French rider Rémi Cavagna (Soudal Quick-Step) – complicated the task of pursuit.
“It wasn’t fun,” admitted Boivin. Honestly, they were tough. I couldn’t wait for them to fold the wings. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY IPT
Guillaume Boivin
Hugo Houle then went to the plank to position his leaders in an increasingly stretched peloton. On the flat part of the first third, he got up.
Woods and Teuns continued their journey through the hordes of Basque fans, dropping into the group of 24 leaders five kilometers further.
In San Sebastián, a stone’s throw from La Concha beach, exceptionally closed to swimming due to excessively strong waves which have delighted young surfers, Woods sprinted to seventh place, at the same time as the winner Victor Lafay. The Belgian Teuns finished two ranks behind.
Mission accomplished for IPT. “I was well placed, but a little stuck in the last 150 meters of the sprint, explained Woods on his return from doping control. But I am not a sprinter. It was not my goal to win the stage if it ended in a sprint. »
The collective effort
The 208.9 km stage, the longest of this Tour, was carried out at a faster pace than that of the day before, under the impetus of UAE Team Emirates, the formation of the yellow jersey Adam Yates.
“It’s better to start like that with harder stuff in the Basque Country, exposed Woods, now 7e to the general. It’s less complicated, less stressful and better for me. »
Swell, who returned 66e, at eight minutes, shared this analysis: “To calm things down, they drove faster. So it uses, huh. Climb down, climb down, these are routes made for that. »
At the end of the race, made more difficult by the rain in the first half, Houle held back the collective effort.
It’s a positive synergy. If we stay together more, we have more respect in front of us. The fact that Mike is fifth overall [au début de l’épreuve], it brings a certain respect too. The teams [des meneurs] leave us a little further ahead. When team leaders perform well, it makes our job easier.
Hugo Houle
Maybe, but you still have to have the engine to take advantage of this apparent respect, added Boivin.
“Respect, we earn it with the way we ride and the legs we have, he summed up. We’re having a really good season and we’re ahead in every race. This is where you earn respect. At the end of the day, you also have to have the legs to have respect! It all goes together. »
PHOTO SIMON DROUIN, THE PRESS
Hugo Houle in discussion with the CEO of Premier Tech, Jean Bélanger
At the bus, the IPT cyclists were discreetly welcomed by co-owner Jean Bélanger, who was on a quick trip to the Basque Country for the big start, accompanied by his two daughters.
The CEO of Premier Tech did not hide his satisfaction: “It’s really nice. Somewhere, people doubted us last year with the relegation at the end of the year. No matter how the UCI labels us, we are a WorldTour team. We see it with our riders, their performances, what we did at the Giro, our young people. We have a great squad. The team spirit is strong and the guys have confidence, without being arrogant. We are proud of what they have done on the first two stages. »
This positive start helps stimulate interest in the event in Quebec. Like journalists, Bélanger receives “several requests to know how to follow the Tour de France”, absent from traditional TV for a few years.
The 5,200 “team members” of the Rivière-du-Loup multinational do not have this problem. The race is broadcast live in the factories and premises of the 28 countries where the company is present. “There is a good vibration, a lot of interest. »
And productivity? “It motivates and energizes everyone! Like the next generation in Quebec.
“It’s good for the girls as well as the guys to see our two Quebecers and three Canadians here, to see what happened at the Tour de Beauce and at the Canadian championships, marked by Quebec, both in the elite category and U23. . It’s really exciting what’s happening for road cycling in Quebec right now. »
And what is happening in the Basque Country, he could have added.