Mid-season transfers are a rarity in pro cycling, but Dylan Teuns has made a shock switch from Bahrain Victorious to Israel-Premier Tech.
In a statement issued on social media on Friday, Bahrain Victorious confirmed that Teuns, who joined the team in 2019, had left the team with immediate effect.
Soon after, Israel-Premier Tech announced the signature of the 30-year-old, with the departure of Israeli rider Guy Sagiv opening up a roster spot to make room. The Belgian will take on the Vuelta a España and Italian Classics for his new team as they battle for points in the fight to save their WorldTour status.
Teuns, who in any case was out of contract at the end of the season, said that he had already been in discussions with Israel-Premier Tech to move for 2023, but took up team owner Sylvan Adams' offer to move immediately.
"I was already talking to Israel-Premier Tech about joining in 2023 but then Sylvan Adams offered me the chance to make the switch now and start my contract immediately, which I am really grateful for," he said in a statement issued by the team.
"I had three and a half great years with Bahrain Victorious where I won my biggest races and I want to thank them for everything. I am really excited for this new chapter and can't wait to race with Israel-Premier Tech."
Teuns will no doubt be thrown into action as soon as possible as Israel-Premier Tech continue their battle to stay in the WorldTour for 2023. They currently lie outside the top 18 teams in the world rankings, 920 points adrift of 18th placed squad Movistar.
The team scored two victories – worth 120 UCI points apiece – at July's Tour de France via Simon Clarke and Hugo Houle and will now be looking to Teuns to bring the results needed to claw their way to survival in the dying months of 2022.
Teuns' 2022 points haul of 1,068 won't count towards Israel-Premier Tech's 2022 total, however, and he'll now need to score 120 or more to make it into the team's top 10 scorers in order for his points to count come the end of the season.
"Israel-Premier Tech is a team that has really stepped up over the last years and it was great to see the team bring home two stage wins at the Tour de France," Teuns said.
"I think the team is on the way to becoming one of the top teams and this is a great time to join and deliver some more results. I feel I will be able to play a key role in the races that suit me most and together with IPT's other leaders, we can be a really strong team."
Teuns is understood to have been dissatisfied with the situation at Bahrain Victorious this season following a series of anti-doping raids in the lead-up to the Tour de France.
At the start of the Tour last month, Teuns gave an emotional interview to Wielerflits on the subject.
"It's not an easy subject to talk about," he said. "I've been working towards this aftere the Classics. I'm also in good shape. It would be a shame to let circumstances take all this away from me.
"It's very tough and feels unfair. After my victory in La Flèche Wallonne, I was the hero of Flanders. Now, I am being killed."
In 2022, he has enjoyed one of the best seasons of his career so far. Back in spring he powered to the first Classics victory of his career at La Flèche Wallonne, also taking a stage win at the Tour de Romandie and scoring top 10s at the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
However, he couldn't repeat previous stage-winning heroics at the Tour, instead scoring a couple of top 10s as Bahrain Victorious largely underperformed expectations following Europol anti-doping raids on team riders and staff on the eve of the race.
"Thank you Dylan Teuns for an unforgettable four years with us and your amazing victories at the Tour de France and La Flèche Wallonne. We wish you all the best," Bahrain Victorious wrote on Twitter as the team announced his departure.
"With no races planned for Dylan Teuns following the Tour de France, it has been agreed that Dylan will race for his new team for the remainder of the year to help transition for the upcoming seasons."
