A week after landing his first WorldTour win at the Critérium du Dauphiné, Israel-Premier Tech have confirmed that Jake Stewart will be staying on the team for at least another three years.
The Brit has extended his contract through to 2028, signing the renewal before that maiden WT success, describing it as a "no-brainer" having joined the team in 2024 and rediscovered his winning legs this season.
His win at the Dauphiné is, of course, the highlight, beating sprint royalty Jonathan Milan (Lidl-Trek) to the line on stage 5, after narrowly missing out to the superstar group on stage 1, which was led in by Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates-XRG). This also came after he was meant to be on lead-out duties for Pascal Ackermann at that race, who abandoned after crashing.
At 25, and with a newfound top level, the rider from Coventry is only excited for what's next.
"It feels like I’m turning a new page in my career,” said Stewart on the team's website.
"The goal for the future remains the same with IPT; developing me into a world-class lead-out rider, and that’s something I’m really keen to do personally.
"But obviously, I also get my own opportunities and I try to make the most of them. I’m really looking forward to the next three years with IPT, and seeing what we can build as a team."
Stewart is one of several Brits in recent years to come through Groupama-FDJ's development programme into the professional ranks, but credits the culture at Israel-Premier Tech for unlocking more of his potential.
"Having been part of a team that’s been so successful, it allowed me to re-find my love for training and racing and being a bike rider," he said.
"That’s massively down to the team… the environment has allowed me to begin to fulfil my potential. I always knew what I was capable of doing, but for whatever reasons in the past, I’d not fulfilled the opportunities I was given.
"That’s certainly evident in the last month or so with the two wins which show that with the right support, the right team, and being in an environment where I’m happy and relaxed, the success is a by-product of that."
Stewart's team described him as one of the "MVPs" among the group, and after that Dauphiné success, he'll be eyeing up a spot on their eight-man Tour de France roster as the next immediate goal.
