After declaring that he felt Chris Froome was not value for his salary, Israel-Premier Tech owner Sylvan Adams reiterated his criticism of the four-time Tour de France winner but defended the team's reputation of hiring veteran riders in an exclusive interview with Cyclingnews at the UCI Road World Championships.
Adams and his team management built the team on the backs of veteran riders, signing Froome in 2021 from Ineos Grenadiers after his terrible crash at the Criterium du Dauphiné 2019 kept him out of competition the better part of a year. Israel-Premier Tech have only begun to sign a younger generation of riders after losing WorldTour status for 2023.
The team have been actively seeking a new Grand Tour contender since Froome has not achieved his previous level. Adams refused to confirm nor deny his team is among those bidding to buy Remco Evenepoel out of his Soudal-Quickstep contract.
"I know that there's been talk of us being a retirement home. It's a fair criticism," Adams said.
"When we moved up to the WorldTour in 2020, we had a Pro Continental roster – it wasn't good enough. When we upgraded we didn't have the ecosystem at that time, the scouting and all the other stuff that a WorldTour team needs to have to bring up young riders and to let them develop over the timeframe required.
"Not everybody comes in like Egan Bernal or [Tadej] Pogačar and just wins right away. So yeah, we went out and got veterans who had had success. I mean, Chris Froome is the marquee example of that strategy. And it didn't work out in some cases."
In other cases, the transfers were a great success. Australian Simon Clark was without a team and on the brink of retirement when Israel-Premier Tech hired him in 2022 at age 36. Clarke repaid the team with their first Tour de France stage win on the cobbles of Northern France.
Michael Woods, also now 36, won a stage of this year's Tour de France on the Puy de Dôme. The team brought on Domenico Pozzovivo on a last chance saloon contract, and have nine riders that are 35 or older, with Woods as their top scorer.
"I don't care – call us a retirement home," Adams said flippantly.
"If the guys produce? Great. So if Woods and Clark can win – if Geraint Thomas can do so well like he did in the Giro where he came second – I'm okay with older riders."
That much is clear, as the billionaire is himself a masters racer with two titles at the Glasgow championships.
Although Adams says Froome is fully recovered from his crash, he also has no answer as to why he hasn't performed. The Canadian-Israeli team owner appears to be losing patience with the four-time Tour de France winner.
"Chris Froome was brought on precisely because we had ambitions to be relevant [with a] GC contender. Clearly, that has not worked out. Chris wasn't selected to the Tour squad this year because he didn't obtain the results in the tune-up races that were his prerequisites for being selected to the Tour team.
"I think even Chris would admit that he cannot be considered a GC contender. He hasn't had any results in three years to speak of. He had one exciting stage on the Alpe d'Huez at the Tour last summer, but that's been pretty much it."
Adams qualified his statements that Froome was not a value for the money with a gesture of respect for his past achievements.
"He is the greatest Grand Tour rider of this generation – until somebody else gets seven Grand Tours. I have nothing but respect for Chris Froome. But when we are selecting our 2023 Tour de France team, what he did several years ago no longer counts.
"He accepted the criteria for his selection to the Tour team. Sure he was disappointed and he made public statements that he thought he was ready although his results speak otherwise. He talked about equipment which I will point out that he was at Mont Ventoux and Route d'Occitanie, where Mike Woods finished second and first respectively, on the same equipment, the same bike, the same helmet, the same clothes, the same everything. We're very pleased with our technical sponsors and partners. It's been problem-free throughout the season."
Adams also reiterated that he will hold to the contract that allows Froome to remain with the team through 2025.
"We're not looking to get out of it. A contract is a commitment. And we've given that commitment now," he said, also adding that the recent retirement of Peter Sagan was an example of a rider who opted to bow out rather than race without results.
"Any rider can always decide... Father Time spares no athlete," he said.
'Not an affirmative action programme for Israel'
This year's team isn't the oldest roster of the it's history – that came in 2022 when their average age was 31.
The addition of 20-year-old Matthew Riccitello and other young riders – like the three riders who moved up from Israel's development team: Marco Frigo, Derek Gee and Mason Hollyman – have skewed the average slightly downward.
Adams wouldn't discuss any as yet unannounced new arrivals for 2024, but gave some hints.
"We have some really good names coming in. I think we will impress with the names that we're bringing on.
"And we're there's a reason that they weren't named exactly on August 1 – one of them is competing at the world championships at the velodrome and wanted to get through his races before having the media storm that usually follows."
Adams is referring to Britain's Ethan Vernon, who won the Elimination World Title and has impressed in sprints while at Soudal-QuickStep.
With the retirement of Daryl Impey and Sep Vanmarcke, the average age of riders at Israel-Premier Tech is bound to continue downward.
Already named for 2024 are development riders Oded Kogut and Nadav Raisberg and Canadian Riley Pickrell, adding two Israelis to the three already in the squad.
Itamar Einhorn recently won a stage of the Czech Tour before crashing out and claimed two 1.2 races, the Israeli national title and fourth place in Milano-Torino this year.
Adams admitted that the Israeli riders who were on the team early on needed to "learn the game a little bit" and the squad had some home riders who weren't "completely at the level" but insists that the riders coming in have earned their spots.
"This is not an affirmative action programme for Israelis. This is a meritocracy. They've actually earned their spot. Last year, we also promoted three riders from our under-23 team, including Derek Gee who had such a great Giro and Marco Frigo. So we promoted three this year, two of them happened to be Israeli. But last year, none were Israeli."
Adams attributes the growth of cycling in Israel to the Giro d'Italia start there in 2018, which he helped facilitate.
'We're reaping the fruit from that new interest. The two Israelis were just kids watching that. It was five years ago. So you know, they were kids watching that race. And here they are now they're going to be on an important team."
Peace Race
Adams is also turning his attention to building a race between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE, the three signatories of the Abraham Accords, dubbed the Peace Race (not to be confused with the Eastern European event).
He says the plan is to have a stage in each country but it may not be the traditional stage race format. Cyclingnews revealed details of the new 2024 race during the Tour de France.
"We're just getting the details worked out and we hope to inaugurate it in 2024," Adams said, adding that it would take place in conjunction with the year-end Awards Gala and would be a "real race", not an exhibition like the Saitama Criterium, for example.
There would be no women's race in the first edition for financial reasons but plans are to add one in the future.
When asked about the potential criticism that such an event would equate to 'sportswashing', Adams gave a passionate response that Israel is no less "open, tolerant, pluralistic, democratic or safe" than Canada.
"When [Israel] host the only gay pride parades in the Middle East... we get accused of pinkwashing", "When we do great things for the environment ... we're greenwashing."
"Sport diplomacy works, it builds bridges between people. And it's a good thing for the world."
