Canada has produced riders capable of making an impact on cycling’s biggest stage, yet the country has never fielded its own men’s team at the Tour de France. From Steve Bauer’s fourth-place finish and ten days in yellow in 1990 to Ryder Hesjedal’s fifth overall in 2010.
Canadians have earned recognition while riding for European or American squads. More recently, Hugo Houle, Mike Woods, and Derek Gee have claimed impressive results, but the dream of a fully Canadian team remains unfulfilled. Houle and Woods have snagged amazing stage wins, and Gee took 9th overall.
The six Canadian riders who made history at the Tour de France Feminin
Now, rumours suggest that Israel-Premier Tech (IPT), a UCI ProTeam co-owned by Canadian-Israeli businessman Sylvan Adams, may change its registration from Israel to Canada.
Several factors make this plausible: the team already includes Canadian riders such as Derek Gee (sort of, see link), Hugo Houle, and Mike Woods (for now), and Canadian company Premier Tech is the main sponsor.
Despite the name “Israel” on the kit, the State of Israel doesn’t sponsor the team. It is the brainchild of Israeli-Canadian Sylvan Adams. Adams has referred to himself as Israel’s “self-appointed ambassador at large” and has met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Recent events have put pressure on IPT to rebrand. Protests during the 2025 Vuelta a España and the Gran Camiño race prompted the team to remove Israeli branding at Canadian events. Factor, the team’s primary bike sponsor, has reportedly demanded a name and flag change, threatening to withdraw sponsorship if IPT does not comply.
Factor founder Rob Gitelis told Cyclingnews he has already warned the team it must shed its Israeli identity if the partnership is to continue.
“I have already indicated it to the team: without a name and flag change, we will not continue as a sponsor,” Gitelis said. Factor has apparently conveyed the message directly to Adams, despite the two sides only recently extending their collaboration.
Historically, Canadian teams have attempted to reach the Tour. Evian (1989–1992) had Canadian riders like Alex Stieda and Steve Bauer but folded after sponsorship issues. Symmetrics (2004–2008) supported riders such as Svein Tuft and Christian Meier but never secured a Tour invitation. SpiderTech, founded by Bauer, became a UCI ProTeam and competed at the Tour de Suisse, the closest a…
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