Premier Tech to back Alison Jackson's French ProTour squad for 2026 after leaving Israel-Premier Tech
St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 to be sponsored by Canadian company for next two seasons
Premier Tech will sponsor French team St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 next season, it was revealed on Tuesday, just over a week after it was announced the brand would stop backing Israel-Premier Tech.
The Canadian waste water management, fertilisers and recycling company will notably support St Michel's women's ProTeam, which now counts Canadians Alison Jackson, Simone Boilard and Clara Émond among its roster. St Michel-Preference Home-Auber93 also has a men's Continental team.
The team's name won't be getting any longer though, with Premier Tech just appearing on jerseys.
"This opportunity fully aligns with the reason why Premier Tech has been committed to cycling for over 30 years — building bridges across all levels of the sport and supporting the development of Québec and Canadian cyclists," Jean Bélanger, president and chief executive officer of Premier Tech, said in a statement.
The press release implies that Premier Tech's sponsorship helped the team sign Jackson, Boilard and Émond, which suggests this link-up has been in the works for a while. It reads: "This partnership helps pave the way for three elite Canadian cyclists to join the team, while reflecting the growing momentum of women’s cycling on the Canadian and international stage." Jackson's transfer was announced on 23 October.
"Partnering with Premier Tech marks a milestone for our team," Charlie Nerzic, deputy general manager of the team, said. "We share a common vision: an inclusive, integrated cycling ecosystem driven by talent diversity. We are pleased to welcome Premier Tech and pursue this shared ambition."
The team formerly known as Israel-Premier Tech, which is set to be promoted to the WorldTour for 2026, announced last month that it would be renamed and rebranded for next season, "moving away from its current Israeli identity".
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However, in a statement, a spokesperson for the company Premier Tech said earlier this month that the "core reason to sponsor the team has been overshadowed to a point where it has become untenable". With this news, Premier Tech will remain in cycling.
The same statement read: "Premier Tech’s ambition in cycling has always been to build bridges across all levels of the sport, paving the way for athletes and staff to achieve their full potential. Supporting the growth of the sport, alongside the development of Québec and Canadian cyclists, is at the heart of this commitment — and will remain so in the future."
St Michel's women's team took part in multiple Women's WorldTour races this year, including the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. With former Paris-Roubaix Femmes champion Jackson on board, however, and the backing of Premier Tech, they will likely want to punch higher than just appearing on the start list. They have also brought in India Grangier from Coop-Repsol.
Meanwhile, the men's Continental squad's best result came at the GP de Denain, where Dillon Corkery finished sixth, setting up a move to Picnic PostNL.

Adam is Cycling Weekly’s news editor – his greatest love is road racing but as long as he is cycling, he's happy. Before joining CW in 2021 he spent two years writing for Procycling. He's usually out and about on the roads of Bristol and its surrounds.
Before cycling took over his professional life, he covered ecclesiastical matters at the world’s largest Anglican newspaper and politics at Business Insider. Don't ask how that is related to riding bikes.
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