With preparation for the 2023 season underway, Israel – Premier Tech is pleased to welcome former professional cyclists Sam Bewley and Rene Mandri to the team’s Sports Director group.
IPT General Manager Kjell Carlström welcomed the team’s new additions at pre-season meetings in Barcelona this week.
“Our Sports Director group will have a new look next year with Sam Bewley and Rene Mandri adding their unique experience and a fresh outlook so we are excited to see them join the team. Steve Bauer will move into the role of Head Sports Director, a role he previously held at CCC Team, which will see Steve lead our DS group and work alongside Sporting Manager Rik Verbrugghe, while Eric Van Lancker will transition to an operations role. At the same time, I want to extend a big thank you to Zak Dempster, Claudio Cozzi, and Nicki Sørensen, who will be leaving IPT. They have all contributed significantly to the team over the past years and we wish them well with their next endeavours,” says Carlström.
Having retired after a 13-year cycling career this year, Bewley is excited to take on his next chapter as Sports Director with IPT.
“I’m really excited to start this new chapter in my cycling career and get stuck into my new role as Sports Director. After a long career as a pro, this felt like the natural next step for me and Israel – Premier Tech presented a great opportunity that will allow me to develop and also offer my experience to the team,” explains Bewley.
Mandri, also a former cyclist who retired in 2013, has recently been working as Manager for Team Ampler-Tartu2024 and is looking forward to a new challenge.
“In my recent work as Manager of Team Ampler-Tartu2024, I was really missing working as a Sports Director and being at the races. So I was looking for something more exciting and having a good structure around me. After the three days of meetings this week, I can see this is a great group of people and I’m excited to get started,” adds Mandri.
2023 IPT Sports Director group: Steve Bauer (Canada), René Andrle (Czech Republic), Sam Bewley (New Zealand), Dirk Demol (Belgium), Oscar Guerrero (Spain), Rene Mandri (Estonia), Dror Pekatch (Israel), Ruben Plaza (Spain) – Israel – Premier Tech Academy.
