Israel-Premier Tech sign up promising British youngster Joe Blackmore
21-year-old has won 2024 editions of Tour du Rwanda and U23 Liège-Bastogne-Liège, fourth in Brabantse Pijl
Israel-Premier Tech have announced the signing of British talent Joe Blackmore after the 21-year-old started his 2024 season with a series of impressive performances for the ProTeam's Continental development squad.
A versatile rider with experience in both cyclo-cross and mountain bike, Blackmore is fairly new to road racing. But he has already scored a series of impressive results – both at U23 and professional level.
After taking sixth at the Tour du Rwanda and making his Tour de l'Avenir debut in 2023, this season has seen Blackmore take another big step up. In February he won two stages en route to the overall title in Rwanda while racing for the Israel-Premier Tech pro team, prior to claiming the outright victory in the Tour de Taiwan in March.
Earlier this month Blackmore won the 2.2-ranked Circuit des Ardennes, nipping into the lead by three seconds with a stage win on the last day. Last week he confirmed his talents among the pro peloton with a stunning ride to fourth amid riders of the calibre of Benoît Cosnefroy (Decathlon-AG2R La Mondiale), Tim Wellens (UAE Team Emirates), and Michael Matthews (Jayco-AIUIa) at Brabantse Pijl, while on Saturday he was on the top step of the podium once again at Liège-Bastogne-Liège U23.
Hot on the heels of that triumph, Israel-Premier Tech have moved quickly to secure Blackmore for the professional squad, bringing him on board on a two-year contract for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
"I've really enjoyed my first few months with the team and the race calendar I have. I didn't expect to win so much already," Blackmore said in a press release.
"I knew that my winter without cyclo-cross allowed me to train more so I expected to be a bit stronger than last year, a bit closer to the front, but I didn't expect to win all these races. I guess once you start winning, you're on a roll."
Blackmore's success has naturally seen him draw interest from other pro teams, but the Londoner said that he was motivated to stay with Israel-Premier Tech in part due to the opportunities the team has granted him.
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"Israel-Premier Tech seems like a really good team, and everyone is caring and supportive," he said. "I've raced up with the ProTeam a bit already, and I really like the environment and the opportunities I have been given so I was motivated to stay."
Blackmore also outlined several objectives for the upcoming season and said that he's a rider more suited to the hilly races, rather than the mountains or sprints – as his growing palmarès suggests.
"As for my objectives, I really want to go for the win in every race that suits me, and I have my eye on the Mountain Bike and Road World Championships this year," he said.
"I'm not a pure climber, I'm not a pure sprinter so I think one-week stage races and punchy one-day races are particularly suited to me and eventually, I'll see how I go at the Grand Tours."
He'll join a promising group of young riders and new pros at the team, which had previously gained a reputation for bringing on board big-name riders heading towards the end of their careers.
Paris-Tours winner Riley Sheehan, Giro d'Italia combativity award winner Derek Gee, and Blackmore's fellow Britons Ethan Vernon and Jake Stewart can also be counted among that group.
Newly appointed Israel-Premier Tech Academy manager Tim Elverson revealed that he had been following Blackmore for several seasons before bringing him on board the development team.
"I first saw Joe back in the 2021-22 cyclo-cross season and I could see something in him so started to keep an eye on him. I've rolled the dice before bringing riders from cyclo-cross over to the road, so I started working with him from September last year," Elverson said.
"He came to Israel-Premier Tech Academy and embraced the learning curve and has really settled into the family environment we have built, which I believe has allowed him to grow quickly. With the opportunities IPT can offer and the WorldTour structure we have, the progress he can make is limitless."
Elverson continued to say that Blackmore could end up being suited to several Monument Classics as he develops, such is his versatility. As well as his recent success on the road, he's also won the gravel national title at elite level plus U23 national titles in both MTB cross country and cyclo-cross.
"Obviously, Joe is very much on the up and it is still unclear exactly what type of racer he will become but my feeling is he is particularly suited to short stage races and the Ardennes Classics," Elverson said.
"Although with the way he handles the bike and his love of a hard race, I think there are quite a few Monuments that may suit him. With the experience we have in this team, the only sure thing is there will be many wins to come."
Dani Ostanek is Senior News Writer at Cyclingnews, having joined in 2017 as a freelance contributor and later being hired full-time. Before joining the team, she had written for numerous major publications in the cycling world, including CyclingWeekly and Rouleur. She writes and edits at Cyclingnews as well as running newsletter, social media, and how to watch campaigns.
Dani has reported from the world's top races, including the Tour de France, Road World Championships, and the spring Classics. She has interviewed many of the sport's biggest stars, including Mathieu van der Poel, Demi Vollering, and Remco Evenepoel, and her favourite races are the Giro d'Italia, Strade Bianche and Paris-Roubaix.
Season highlights from 2024 include reporting from Paris-Roubaix – 'Unless I'm in an ambulance, I'm finishing this race' – Cyrus Monk, the last man home at Paris-Roubaix – and the Tour de France – 'Disbelief', gratitude, and family – Mark Cavendish celebrates a record-breaking Tour de France sprint win.