Irish national road race champion, Alice Sharpe, has signed for Israel Premier Tech Roland Development, a UCI Continental team. Sharpe, who won her second Irish road race title in Kanturk, Co Cork, last June, becomes the second Irish rider to join the Israel Premier Tech organisation. Mia Griffin has already made her debut for the World Tour squad at Santos Tour Down Under.
Sharpe, like Griffin, will be focused this year on the track as both are part of the Irish team pursuit line-up - with Kelly Murphy, Lara Gillespie and Emily Kay - trying to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Related News
Sharpe will get her season underway on the track, rather than on the road for her new team, with her first racing assignment the European Track Championships in Grenchen, Switzerland, from February 8th to 12th. She will continue with her track focus until about April, at which point Sharpe will then ride some road races with her new team.
Advertisement
The Israel Premier Tech Roland team raced as the Roland Cogeas Edelweiss Squad in 2022, which was its first season at World Tour level having always been a UCI Continental team. The team is now backed by the same sponsors and organisation as the men'ss Israel Premier Tech team.
That has seen it take on the same title sponsors as the men's team, with a development team, which Sharpe has now signed for, created to run alongside the existing World Tour team. Riders in the development team will get the opportunity to step up and race for the World Tour line-up at different times during this season.
