Sylvan Adams, owner of Israel Startup Nation, confirmed that his team is still in discussions with Premier Tech about a possible deal after the Canadian brand ended its partnership with Astana.

Company owner Jean Bélanger attended the Israeli team's "homecoming" camp in Jerusalem over the weekend with ISN's newly signed directors Jacob Fuglsang and Hugo Houle, and three new directors who have moved from Astana for 2022, Steve Bauer, who joined the group along with the new director, Steve Bauer.

The company had a partnership with the Kazakhstan team for the 2021 season, but is now stepping away from its co-sponsorship role due to disagreements over the team's future vision.

In recent months, Bélanger has held discussions with both BikeExchange and the financially troubled Qhubeka NextHash team, reportedly offering a €5 million investment in exchange for a partnership role. However, neither discussion materialized, and the company is now connected with Israel's Start-Up Nation as a potential ownership partner.

In an exclusive interview with Cyclingnews at his eponymous Tel Aviv velodrome, Adams acknowledged that positive discussions had taken place between the two parties over the past week, but added that nothing had been agreed with Belanger yet.

"Let's just say the subject may have come up," Adams said. 'Jean was here. He loves this sport. He got involved in the sport in a very big way and it didn't work out elsewhere.

"So now he's taking his time before he makes his final move. We were close before and we are still close now. We're both from Quebec, and it's very satisfying to join forces, and I think it's very fitting."

"So we'll see what happens. If we have anything to announce, we'll let you know."

The additions of Fuglsang and Houle were announced almost a month ago, in mid-October, but the transfer of Bauer, who is Canadian like Belanger, Houle, and Adams, has not yet been officially announced by the team.

Former BMC DS told Cyclingnews that he will be working with Dirk Demol, Rick Verbrugghe, and Nicki Sorensen next season.

"It actually came a little bit naturally," Bauer said. Sylvain and I had a connection when I had my own team at SpiderTech. I feel like it's a little bit of a roundabout way to oversee the part of Canadian that we helped develop."

"It's no secret that the partnership between Astana and Premier Tech didn't work out. Jean is looking for a new partner and it hasn't worked out yet, but in the meantime he is constantly talking to Sylvain and Sylvain is talking to him. There seems to be a natural fit that those businessmen will have to work out on their own, but I will refrain from commenting further."

Meanwhile, Fuglsang told Cyclingnews that Premier Tech was "probably the reason we came together [as a group]," but that Adams and ISN likely hired him, Houle, and Bauer independently of their ties to Premier Tech. He added that he felt it was likely. [25][26] "I discussed it with Jean at Premier Tech and we agreed that wherever he went, I would stay with him. [I don't know if Premier Tech came here or if Sylvain took the whole group, but Sylvain said, 'Okay, these guys are available; ISN was one of the teams we were talking about in August and they wanted to get me. "

Adams is a member of the WorldTour team and Continental feeder team Israel Cycling Academy, the Velodrome in Israel and Canada, the Sylvan Adams Sports Institute in Tel Aviv, and the 2018 Giro d'Italia. The company has multiple ongoing interests around cycling and other sports, including a role in bringing the Giro d'Italia to Israel.

Speaking to Cycling News, he revealed that he hopes to further expand his horizons by one day starting a UCI race in Israel or creating a women's team. However, he said that these plans remain ideas for now, and that he needs to attract other supporters before either project can be realized.

On the possibility of a race in Israel, Adams said. 'I think it's in our future and I think it's very, very fitting. But all the pieces have to fit together in terms of needing support from the government. We can't do everything in this country,

"Now that we've shown the potential of the Giro d'Italia, I think there's a positive feeling about it. Now that I've been able to show what the Giro d'Italia is capable of, I think there's a positive feeling about it.

Adams, who began cycling at age 41 and has since won two Masters World Championships, was also positive about the possibility of starting a women's team for the Israel Startup Nation and the Israel Cycling Academy.

But again, he said, future projects would require additional outside investment.

"No doubt. That is also in the future. Again, I would like to see some partners come in for those projects. Right now we have a World Tour team and a conti team. It would be great to have someone come in and provide support to the women's team."

"It is definitely in our future. I think women's sports need to be supported. These girls are doing a great job and improving the sport. I like what they are doing in women's cycling and I would love to see an ISN or ICA women's team at the women's World Tour level, under the umbrella of our project.

"All of these things cost money. So we have to prioritize certain things and the more partners we can bring in, the more we can continue to reinvest and make these kinds of projects happen."