In the race for UCI points which will count for the ranking established over the three seasons from 2023 to 2025, and which could offer a key to accession to the World Tour from 2026 to 2028, the Israel-Premier Tech team in has already garnered a few this week on the Tour of Rwanda. Because the event classified in 2.1 (first stage race category) is at the same level as, for example, the Tour de La Provence or the Étoile de Bessèges.
With three stage victories since the start on Sunday, that of Joseph Blackmore on Friday at the summit of Mont Kigali and the two of Itamar Einhorn, on the second stage on Monday and this Saturday on the seventh in Kayonza, plus three days spent with the jersey yellow, its provisional score is estimated at 54 points compared to 17 for example for the TotalEnergies team which also plays in UCI Pro, the equivalent of the 2nd division under the World Tour. And if the Briton Joseph Blackmore kept his yellow jersey this Sunday and won the final ranking, the Israeli team would pocket 125 additional points.
All this may seem like apothecary’s calculations today when there are still almost two seasons left to change the world team ranking but we remember that, at the end of the 2022 season, some regretted not having taken these “distant” events seriously enough when assessing the points won or lost here or there. The Israeli team, like the Belgians from Lotto, had also paid the price at that time.
