(Paris) The Israel Premier Tech cycling team, whose presence was denounced during several races this season by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, is changing its name and structure and becoming “NSN Cycling Team”, the latter said on Thursday.

“International sports and entertainment company NSN (Never Say Never) and Stoneweg, a global investment platform based in Geneva, Switzerland, have entered into a joint venture in professional road cycling to take over the structure of the WorldTour and Development teams (from Israel Premier Tech, Editor’s note) for the 2026 season,” it is indicated in a press release.

“As a result, the name of the new World Tour team is “NSN Cycling Team”. »

The text further emphasizes that the new team is of “Swiss” nationality and that its structure will be “Spanish”, based in Barcelona and Girona, in Catalonia. Among the co-founders of the NSN company is one of the legends of FC Barcelona, ​​and former Spanish international, Andres Iniesta.

This formation replaces Israel PT, whose presence in the peloton has been contested on several occasions this season by pro-Palestinian demonstrators, in particular during the Tour of Spain, against a backdrop of conflict in the Gaza Strip.

At the beginning of the month, the Canadian group Premier Tech announced that it was withdrawing from the team with immediate effect, deeming it “unsustainable” to continue to sponsor it.

“Although we have noted the team’s decision to continue under a new name for the 2026 season, the very reason for our commitment to it has been eclipsed to such an extent that it is now unsustainable for Premier Tech to continue in its role as sponsor,” Premier Tech argued.

A month earlier, the Israel PT team had actually announced that it would change its name and move away from “its current Israeli identity”. She added that its owner, Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvan Adams, would step back and would “no longer speak on behalf of the team”.

“We are proud to welcome NSN and Stoneweg to the team and to announce our new name and our new identity,” reacted Thursday the general director of NSN Cycling Team, Kjell Carlström, quoted in the press release.

According to the text, a training camp is planned for next week, while the team’s new colors and program will be revealed “in the coming weeks”.

Premier Tech’s adventure in cycling is not over. Solicited by several teams the day after its surprise withdrawal as co-sponsor of Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) last week, the Quebec multinational could make a return to the highest level in 2026 or 2027.

The Belgian team Alpecin-Deceuninck, which counts in its ranks the stars Mathieu van der Poel and Jasper Philipsen, would be the destination of choice for the company of Jean Bélanger and his family, according to two journalists connected to cycling.

“Reliable sources indicated that Alpecin-Deceuninck had already concluded an agreement with Premier Tech for 2026,” even reported the Irishman Daniel Benson last Sunday in an article published on his Substack page. This information was, however, denied by both parties.

Thursday, the Italian Ciro Scognamiglio, cycling specialist of the Gazzetta dello Sportwrote on X that Alpecin “is the most likely option for 2026” for Premier Tech. In the context where financial partners are becoming rarer in cycling, Soudal Quick-Step, Picnic PostNL, EF Education-EasyPost, Ineos Grenadiers and even Astana, co-owner of a WorldTour team with Premier Tech in 2021, would have solicited the interest of the Rivière-du-Loup multinational, according to a source from Daniel Benson.

“The only certainty we have, based on our discussions with several sources, is that Premier Tech aims to return in 2026 or 2027 as a high-profile sponsor of cycling,” he wrote. They will not lead their own team; rather, they aim to partner with an existing team and become a secondary sponsor. »

Premier Tech did not wish to react to what it describes as rumors and conjectures. “We’ve been in cycling for 30 years, we obviously want to continue to be involved,” said communications and public relations director Stéphanie Thériault on Friday afternoon.

Alpecin-Deceuninck, whose second title sponsor had first indicated his intention to withdraw in the spring, is looking for additional funds to fill its ranks. Same thing for Ineos Grenadiers, which wishes to maintain its status among the richest teams while waiting for TotalEnergie to replace the British brands as main sponsor in 2027. Rumors sent the Canadian Derek Gee, in dispute with IPT since he announced the termination of his contract last summer, to Ineos next year.

Involvement in women’s cycling?

Furthermore, according to information from Daniel Benson, Premier Tech could join the French team St Michel – Preference Home – Auber93, whose women’s ProTeam will welcome Canadians Simone Boilard, Clara Émond and Alison Jackson next year.

“Women’s cycling is at the heart of our thinking and the team’s strategic planning,” said in The Press the president and CEO of Premier Tech, Jean Bélanger, upon his arrival with IPT in 2022. “It’s clear that we want to add this to the men’s component in the near rather than distant future. »

As for what is currently called “Cycling Academy”, an announcement must be made “in the coming weeks” regarding the new identity and its sponsors in 2026.

In the context of the war in Gaza, IPT was the target of multiple pro-Palestinian demonstrations during the Vuelta and other events. His participation in the Tour of Lombardy and two other Italian classics was canceled for security reasons in October.

Pending reintegration into the WorldTour, the training of Israeli-Canadian businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams would be licensed in Switzerland, according to Ciro Scognamiglio. Quebecers Guillaume Boivin, Hugo Houle and Pier-André Côté have a contract with Cycling Academy for next year.

“After a turbulent season with Astana, more peaceful days are flowing with Israel-Premier Tech,” we could read in The Press in May 2022.

Jean Bélanger, president and CEO of Premier Tech, was enthusiastic about his new association with a group where a “beautiful vibe reigned » and a strong team spirit. He didn’t know what was up his nose.

This well-started adventure ended in the most flat and dry way on Friday morning. In a press release of less than 300 words, the billionaire multinational from Rivière-du-Loup announced its decision to withdraw from co-sponsorship of the Israel-Premier Tech (IPT) cycling team, at the heart of all the controversies this year in the context of disturbing demonstrations linked to the war in Gaza.

On September 23, Premier Tech publicly demanded the abandonment of the mention “Israel” in the name of the training, a new identity and the overhaul of its brand image, otherwise the company would withdraw its marbles. Bike sponsor and supplier Factor had called for the same thing the day before.

Two weeks later, IPT announced a name change and the withdrawal of its current “Israeli identity.” In its application for accession to the WorldTour with the International Cycling Union, the training is called “Cycling Academy”, a reminder of its original name when it was founded in 2015. The license would be Canadian.

Its co-owner and de facto main manager, Sylvan Adams, an Israeli native of Quebec, also expressed his intention to take “a step back” from his daily involvement in the team’s activities. By defending the actions of his country, this “self-proclaimed ambassador of Israel”, described as close to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, crystallized calls for the exclusion of IPT.

These actions and “multiple discussions with team management” were not sufficient for Premier Tech, associated with IPT since 2022.

“While we have acknowledged the team’s decision to continue under a new name for the 2026 season, the very reason for our engagement with it has been eclipsed to such an extent that it is now unsustainable for Premier Tech to continue in its role as team sponsor,” the statement said.

IPT management reserved its comments on this withdrawal. “However, while sponsorship discussions continue with current and potential partners, the team remains more motivated than ever for the next season,” said a spokesperson.

* * *

For Jean Bélanger, cycling is serious. He is an ardent practitioner, which can be seen from his slender figure. He is also passionate about racing. The involvement of his family-owned business in the world of cycling is not new. For over 30 years, Premier Tech has sponsored teams and competitions on the local, national and international stages.

Beyond his personal interest, the entrepreneur has always considered cycling as a way of uniting his “teammates”, a term identifying the 6,100 employees now spread across 31 countries. Sponsoring a professional team at the highest level – Astana from 2017 to 2021 and then Israel-Premier Tech – also represented “a way to create less serious, more playful moments with [les] customers, [les] partners, [les] suppliers,” he explained in spring 2022.

After the demonstrations that disrupted the Vuelta, where pro-Palestinian or anti-Israel protesters demanded the withdrawal of IPT, the team arrived for the Quebec and Montreal cycling Grands Prix in a climate of high tension, in September.

On the Plains of Abraham, protesters, few in number but noisy, stood near the start/finish line, on the other side of the Premier Tech hospitality tent, to shout their discontent during almost the entire race of more than five hours. For the fun aspect, we will come back.

This hasty withdrawal comes four years after the abrupt end of the Astana-Premier Tech co-ownership, against a backdrop of conflict of vision and management with the Ministry of Sports and the Kazakhstan Cycling Federation.

Owning half of the WorldTour team, the Quebec multinational had a clause giving it the option to buy back the other share held by the Astana Presidential Club of the sovereign fund Samruk-Kazyna JSC. Faced with threats of legal action, Premier Tech deemed it preferable to step aside.

After discussions with a few interested groups, Jean Bélanger finally joined Sylvan Adams’ Israel Start-Up Nation as a co-sponsor. The cyclist Hugo Houle, who became a friend during the adventure with Astana, followed.

“Like my company and like Sylvan, I am a long-term guy,” emphasized Bélanger, met with Adams in Copenhagen on the eve of the Grand Départ of the 2022 Tour de France, where Houle won the 16^e stage.

“If we join forces, it’s not a one-night stand or a two- or three-year affair,” added the president of Premier Tech. It took something that could last 10, 15, 20, 25 years. A partner who had the financial capacity to support his ambition. This is certainly the case here. »

Adams, another cycling enthusiast, introduced Bélanger as a friend: “Jean and I are partners. We are partners. We will reveal more about our affairs with the team later. »

The bloody terrorist attack by Hamas in Israel on October 7, 2023, and the deadly response of the IDF in Gaza, ardently defended by Adams in interviews, and its echo on the sporting field ended up derailing this natural alliance between these two great defenders of Canadian cycling.

Walled in silence since the gradual outbreak of the controversy, Jean Bélanger was clearly walking on eggshells, anxious to protect the brand image of this true flagship of Quebec entrepreneurship. From a business perspective, this sponsorship could become more harmful than anything else.

“We have been involved in cycling for 30 years, but we are first and foremost driven by a passion for our professions, our markets, our customers and our teammates,” it is also underlined in the press release. They are the ones who give meaning to Premier Tech’s purpose and have fueled our journey since 1923. Our desire is that each of them is proud and enthusiastic to be associated with Premier Tech, its brands, its products and its services. »

Three of the best Quebec cyclists, Houle, Guillaume Boivin and Pier-André Côté, are under contract with Cycling Academy in 2026. They preferred not to comment on the withdrawal of Premier Tech, two of them having learned of it when the press release was published. “An announcement regarding the new identity of the team and its sponsors is planned in the coming weeks,” the team said.

For its part, Premier Tech is committed to maintaining its involvement in the “development of sport and Quebec and Canadian cyclists”. Beyond political convictions, his departure from the highest level cannot be seen as anything other than a waste.

The Gee affair

IPT’s year was also marred by the hasty departure of Ontarian Derek Gee, who terminated his contract due to run until 2028. The fourth in the last Giro cited “serious concerns related to racing for the team, both in terms of safety and his personal beliefs”. He has since said that he faces a lawsuit for damages of nearly $50 million (30 million euros). His case is still before a UCI arbitrator.