Transfers and rumours

[Pross]

Biniam Girmay will join Israel-Premier Tech from 2026....or whatever they decide to call themselves.

Weird / disappointing, I can't imagine he'd have been short of offers.

 

[phreak]

Weird / disappointing, I can't imagine he'd have been short of offers.

He hasn't really pushed on since winning Gent-Wevelgem in 2022. Best finish of 14th in 7 monuments since then. That might explain why he's where he is.

 

[M.R.M]

He won the green jersey at the Tour in 2024, so not sure that really applies. That ought to be considered his biggest career achievement and certainly bigger than GW.
I do understand what you mean though. I was expecting more from him in the last few years as well.

 

[phreak]

He won the green jersey at the Tour in 2024, so not sure that really applies. That ought to be considered his biggest career achievement and certainly bigger than GW.
I do understand what you mean though. I was expecting more from him in the last few years as well.

Does anyone really care about the green jersey? Ditto the polka dot jersey. I bet WvA would gladly trade all of his for some monuments.

 

[Pross]

Maybe not such a bad move as it looks like IPT is now under new ownership so will finally lose the Israeli connection although there seems to still be some uncertainty about the details

 

[Pross]

Does anyone really care about the green jersey? Ditto the polka dot jersey. I bet WvA would gladly trade all of his for some monuments.

I would have thought it ranks higher to most than GW does. The two stage wins are definitely something most riders would love.

 

[Adam4868]

Maybe not such a bad move as it looks like IPT is now under new ownership so will finally lose the Israeli connection although there seems to still be some uncertainty about the details

Has Adams walked away and has nothing to do with it ?

 

[Adam4868]

Does anyone really care about the green jersey? Ditto the polka dot jersey. I bet WvA would gladly trade all of his for some monuments.

That Monmartre stage against Pog last year deserved a jersey all of its own !

 

[Pross]

Has Adams walked away and has nothing to do with it ?

That's the uncertainty from reading the BBC article https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cy8v8ml1817o

 

[Adam4868]

From Flamme Rouge....makes me a bit more optimistic for them...

Israel - Premier Tech rebrand is now official.

Sylvain Adams has sold the license and left the team.

 

[phreak]

I would have thought it ranks higher to most than GW does. The two stage wins are definitely something most riders would love.

I'm not saying it's a nothing at all, but the intonation was that he should have better teams than IPT after him. I just think he'd have to show much better in the monuments for that to be the case. His record over the past few years puts him as a 2nd or even 3rd tier classics rider, which isn't going to get teams falling over themselves to sign him. Hence my comment that he hasn't kicked on since his GW win.

 

[Pross]

I'm not saying it's a nothing at all, but the intonation was that he should have better teams than IPT after him. I just think he'd have to show much better in the monuments for that to be the case. His record over the past few years puts him as a 2nd or even 3rd tier classics rider, which isn't going to get teams falling over themselves to sign him. Hence my comment that he hasn't kicked on since his GW win.

There are several teams that would like a rider with his Classics / GT stage winning potential, he also still attracts good publicity. He could also thrive with a strong team around him.

 

[phreak]

There are several teams that would like a rider with his Classics / GT stage winning potential, he also still attracts good publicity. He could also thrive with a strong team around him.

That's what I mean, though. Since 2022, he hasn't come close to winning a classic. We're not talking someone like a Mads Pederson, who is always there or thereabouts but is just up against Pog or MvdP. He's a level or two below that and needs a good day to get top 10. How valuable is that? A slightly different style of rider, but in terms of raw results, he's a bit like Magnus Cort. Would people fall over themselves to sign him?

 

[wakemalcolm]

So Girmay has signed for a team with no named sponsor, no bikes and no sugar daddy.

Hopefully there's more going on in the background.

 

[Pross]

So Girmay has signed for a team with no named sponsor, no bikes and no sugar daddy.

Hopefully there's more going on in the background.

It's not entirely clear but looks like NSN will be the sponsor as well as joint owner from this https://nsncyclingteam.com/nsn-and-stoneweg-launch-the-nsn-cycling-team/