On the back of a standout performance on stage 10 of the Tour de France, Israel – Premier Tech is pleased to announce that Krists Neilands has signed a three-year contract extension.
The 28-year-old Latvian has spent his entire professional career racing in IPT colors, having stepped up from Axeon Hagens Bermon in 2017, and the new three-year contract from 2024 until 2026 will take Neilands to ten years with the team.
The significance of the team’s long-term relationship with Neilands is not lost on team owner Sylvan Adams, who has watched Neilands mature into a Grand Tour stage contender.
“Krists has spent his entire professional career with us, and we truly are his cycling family. The announcement of Krists’ contract renewal comes on the heels of his brilliant ride at the Tour, where we were really, really close to winning our second consecutive stage. So heartbroken for Krists, but at the same time, enormously proud of his effort and ride. He’s got good form, and we’re hoping that Krists gets another crack at a win at this year’s Tour,” says Adams.
Neilands has scored nine wins throughout his time with IPT, including stage wins and the overall victory at Tour de Hongrie, victories at Grand Prix de Wallonie and Dwars door het Hageland, as well as the honor of wearing the Latvian road race and time trial jersey.
Yet it was his solo attack in the closing 30 kilometers of one of the hottest and toughest Tour de France stages that garnered the respect of the cycling world and, if Neilands’ words are anything to go by, it won’t be the last time he’ll be seen at the front of a bike race.
“It was an easy decision to sign another contract. I feel really good in this team. I don’t know how it is in other teams but how I feel here, I feel like it is one big family so there is no reason to change anything. I just want to continue this journey with the team, having been here since almost the beginning. We have already achieved many things but we still have a lot of things to achieve together so I just want to continue growing up with IPT and continue chasing our dreams,” explains Neilands.
Although Neilands has already impressed in his time with the team, IPT General Manager Kjell Carlström believes the best is yet to come.
“Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with Krists knows that you couldn’t ask for a better rider and teammate, both on and off the bike. When we agreed to extend his contract in the lead up to the Tour, we knew that the hard work he put in over the spring would pay off and his impressive solo attack yesterday, coming just shy of the win, is exactly what we knew he was capable of at this level of racing. Krists came to us as a young 22-year-old and now seven years later, he is entering the prime of his career so we can’t wait to see what he will do next,” adds Carlström.
