The director of the newly upgraded women's world team, Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad, admitted to Cyclingnews that the team will have Israel Premier Tech as a financial partner in 2022.

In late January, Ruben Contreras confirmed to Cyclingnews that the Swiss-registered women's team will be officially named Roland Cogeas Edelweiss again this year, but that Israel Premier Tech will be prominently featured on the front of the newly designed jersey.

Contreras confirmed that he will remain the owner of the team, which joins 14 other top-ranked women's world teams this year, and that it will not operate under the same team management as the men's world tour team, Israel Premier Tech. However, he himself said that his partnership with Jean Bélanger, president and CEO of Canadian Premier Tech, and Israeli-Canadian billionaire Sylvain Adams, his partner in Israel Premier Tech, is going well.

He told Cyclingnews that he may sell the team in the future, but for now he is committed to running the team and developing its players, with the help of sponsors and partners.

"The announcement of our partnership with Israel Premier Tech marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the Laurent Coggies Edelweiss Squad. Thanks to our new partnership with Roland, we are able to step up to the UCI Women's WorldTour level in 2022 as the first Swiss women's WorldTour team," Contreras said in Thursday's announcement.

"Our future is even brighter with the addition of Israel Premier Tech as a sponsor. This Swiss-Israeli-Canadian partnership will bring great progress in the development of young riders through shared cultural knowledge and passionate people like Sylvain, Jean and myself."

"We will have the opportunity to benefit from the Israeli Premier Tech experience. This is extremely important for a team like ours that focuses on the development of young riders. We look forward to expanding this development program to riders in Israel and Canada starting this season."

"However, our focus is not only on the road, but also on the participation of our riders in various social development and humanitarian projects. This includes building houses for the disadvantaged, establishing and sponsoring cycling schools for children in Siberia and Latin America, and providing grants to students, all under the umbrella of our Rebecca Foundation, which is very much in line with IPT's Racing for Change initiative. This partnership is a perfect fit. This partnership is nothing short of a perfect fit."

Contreras admitted to Cycling News that the team will add a 12th rider to its original 11 riders, bringing in Rotem Gafinowitz from Israel. I have a longtime Canadian friend who helped me talk to Premier Tech," he said, "and I'm very happy to have him on board.

Roland Kogeas The Edelweiss Squad redesigned their jerseys, keeping their signature colors of red, but adopting a new scalloped motif in magenta and navy blue. Also added was the location of partner Israel Premier Tech under title sponsor Roland, a Swiss bakery, and Cogeas, an insurance, real estate, construction, finance, and sports management company.

The team registered at the Russian continental level as Cogeas Mettler was changed to a Swiss-registered team; Setmana Valenciana-Volta Comunitat Valenciana Fémines in Spain, February 17-20. The team will make its debut at the

With this partnership, Israel Premier Tech has taken its first step into women's cycling, signaling the possibility of a long-term collaboration with the Roland Coggies Edelweiss Squad. [It's an exciting time for Israel Premier Tech and we are delighted to be partnering with the Roland Coggies Edelweiss Squad...As we did three years ago, this team is about to take a big step up to the UCI WorldTour level and we are excited to be part of their growth We are proud to be a part of their growth, to share our expertise, and to support them throughout the season," Adams said in the announcement. [After partnering with Premier Tech just a month ago, it was a natural next step for IPT to expand our presence in cycling alongside our UCI Continental team, the Israel Cycling Academy, to include women's teams, It was a mutual decision.

"We identified the Roland Kogeas Edelweiss Squad as the perfect team to sponsor, especially in terms of our vision to develop Israeli and Canadian talent and a team that would immediately benefit from our financial and structural support. We will be with them for one year to start with, but we see the potential to develop this into a long-term partnership."

Contreras confirmed that the Roland Cogias Edelweiss Squad will continue to operate this season as a separate entity with a separate technical sponsor from the men's World Tour team. However, Belanger said that Israel Premier Tech will share knowledge and resources to support the transition to a top team competing on the Women's World Tour.

"In the five years that Premier Tech has been a professional cycling team, it has always been our vision to be involved in women's cycling. As we begin our next chapter as Israel Premier Tech, we felt it was the right time to make it happen. Together with Sylvan Adams and the IPT management team, we agreed that forming a new team was not the right move and that the investment and support of the team would have more impact in partnership with an existing team. We are very pleased to expand Israel Premier Tech's presence in cycling to include women's cycling, and we are confident that this presence will be further strengthened in the coming years," Bélanger said in the announcement.

The Israel Premier Tech Men's World Tour (formerly the Israel Cycling Academy) was launched in 2015 as a continental-level team, training athletes to compete in international races and inspiring the development of athletes in Israel. The team was promoted to a professional continental team in 2017, and in 2018, the team decided to compete in the Giro d'Italia, which starts in Jerusalem, and co-owner Adams supported the opening stage of the Grand Tour.

In 2020, as an Israeli start-up nation, the team upgraded to the WorldTour and has enjoyed steady growth and success, signing Chris Froome and Michael Woods last year and recently bringing in Premier Tech as co-title sponsor.

However, a January 24 report in The Guardian highlighted concerns about Israel's human rights record against Palestinians and its use of cycling as a way to boost international sports, in what the UN cites as a "flagrant violation of international law." In a letter published in The Guardian on January 30, Adams dismissed the criticism, saying that his support for Israeli sports projects is not "sportswashing."

"On the other hand, my sports initiatives look beyond conflict to build lasting bonds of coexistence and understanding throughout our complex region," Adams wrote.

As the owner of the Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad, for which Israel Premier Tech provides a financial partnership, Cyclingnews asked Contreras for his thoughts on the recent "sportswashing" criticism. He did not immediately respond, however. Cyclingnews will update this article with his views.

As the Israel Cycling Academy has begun, the Roland Kogeas Edelweiss Squad will focus on developing athletes from Israel and Canada. Gafinovitz, an Israeli time trial champion and former road champion, spent half the season with the Canada-based Instafund and the second half with the 2021 Bingoal Casino-Schwarmer team. He also raced for Canyon-SRAM, Wawodiels, and WM3 Pro Cycling in previous seasons.

In addition, Contreras will be adding one more rider from Canada who has yet to be announced. Six riders will continue from this year's team, including Petra Stiasny (Switzerland), Hanna Buch (Germany), Diana Klimova, Grunaz Katuntseva, Tamara Dronova-Barabolina (Russia), and Olga Zabelinskaya (Uzbekistan). The other five newly signed players are Spaniard Ines Cantera, Swiss Aline Seitz, Caroline Chauveau, Leah Stern, and Caroline Baul. [Israel Premier Tech is not a minor sponsor. Step by step, and right now, we need to work on marketing, communication, and training riders for the next year."

"We could surprise this year. We want to build a strong team in the next few years. Together with our sponsors Roland, Israel Premier Tech, and other sponsors, we can build this up. I have been involved in cycling since 1999, but you don't get everything at once, you need patience," Contreras told Cycling News.