Israel-Premier Tech have announced their team for the Tour de France, with 2023 stage winner Michael Woods leading the team into this year's race.
38-year-old Woods' participation in the race has been in doubt recently after he suffered a lung infection at the Tour de Suisse, which forced him to abandon on stage 4.
Writing on Instagram, Woods said, "Cycling is a cruel, cruel sport. For the second time this year, I came off a great altitude camp, in great form, only to abandon the first race post. The race was his first back in the peloton since suffering a fractured collarbone at Milano-Torino back in March.
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"I have some big races on the horizon. Hopefully, the bad luck stops here," Woods wrote. He'll now head up the IPT selection at this year's Tour, his fifth participation at the race.
"I'm really excited about racing my fifth Tour. It's a crazy race, and it's the last race on the calendar that I do that scares me – in a good way, but it's such a challenging race. The level is so high. The risks are so big, but the rewards are so incredible," Woods said.
"Winning a stage there in 2023 was the crowning achievement of my career. Given the level of excitement around that win and the support I've received since I achieved it, I can say it changed my life. For all of those reasons, I can say I'm looking forward to returning to the Tour."
Woods said that stage 6, a hilly 201km day with a punchy uphill finish in Vire Normandie, will mark the start of his Tour de France, no surprise for the former Liège-Bastogne-Liège podium finisher.
Two years ago, Woods scored the biggest win of his career to date, triumphing from the breakaway on stage 9 in Puy de Dôme to take his first Tour stage win. He'll also have his eye on the mountain stages in the high Alps and Pyrenees, then.
"Everything from stage 6 onward I'm excited about," he said. "Don't expect to see me at all during those opening stages – I want to try and stay safe. The only Tour I've won a stage in was the only one I didn't crash in. If I can stay upright in the first week, then there are opportunities in the second and third weeks for stage wins."
Woods will be joined in the hunt for stage wins by German sprinter Pascal Ackermann, a five-time Grand Tour stage winner at the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. The 31-year-old made his long-awaited Tour de France debut last July, picking up four top-five placings along the way.
Ackermann won his first race for IPT at the Classique Dunkerque earlier this season, beating Tour green jersey champion Biniam Girmay to the line in Lens. He'll be taking his shot at a stage win and the yellow jersey on stage 1 of the Tour in Lille.
"I am really excited to be at the start of the Tour, especially after the season so far – I've had a lot of bad luck this year, so now it's time to get back to the sunny times and fight for a stage victory," said Ackermann.
"There are many chances to get an opportunity for sprints this year. How great it would be to win a stage and get the yellow jersey!"
Jake Stewart, who won a stage at the recent Critérium du Dauphiné, will look to be in the mix on the tougher sprint days, while Kazakhstani racer Alexey Lutsenko is racing his first Tour out of Astana colours and will hope to add to his 2020 stage win at Mont Aigoual.
Guillaume Boivin and Krists Neilands will start their fifth Tour, while Matis Louvel is racing his third. 22-year-old Tour de l'Avenir champion Joseph Blackmore rounds out the selection and could be one to watch in the mountains.
"It's simply said, yet difficult to achieve: we want to win a stage. We've assembled the best team from our current healthy roster with the aim of achieving this goal," said IPT sporting manager Steve Bauer.
"It's a common goal for every team, and that's where the challenge lies at the highest level of our sport. We have to be sharp from day one and, in particular, through the first 10 days, we'll analyse how we can have a shot at nearly every stage, because we can't afford to let any opportunities go.
"We have the riders who can be in the mix to win. Our day-to-day tactics will be very important, along with how we manage the guys."
Israel-Premier Tech for the 2025 Tour de France
- Michael Woods (Can)
- Pascal Ackermann (Ger)
- Joseph Blackmore (GBr)
- Guillaume Boivin (Can)
- Matis Louvel (Fra)
- Alexey Lutsenko (Kaz)
- Krists Neilands (Lat)
- Jake Stewart (GBr)
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