Israel - Premier Tech (IPT) announced Tuesday that the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana stage winner Alexey Lutsenko will join the Israeli team for the 2025 and 2026 seasons.
The 31-year-old Kazakh has competed since 2013 with the Astana Qazaqstan Team, with which he has achieved 43 wins, including general classification wins at the Tour of Hainan, the Tour of Oman, the Arctic Race of Norway, the Tour of Türkiye, and this year's inaugural Giro d'Abruzzo.
The three-time road race champion has won stages in almost all the major World Tour one-week races, including Tour de Suisse, Tirreno-Adriatico, and the Criterium du Dauphine, while he achieved a career-best 8th place at Liege-Bastogne-Liege this year.
In October last year, he claimed the third consecutive Asian Games crown in the men's individual time trial in Hangzhou, China.
IPT General Manager Kjell Carlstrom said, "This signing is another step in the right direction with Alexey's talent and experience set to strengthen the team."
"Alexey is a proven winner, you only need to look at his prize list to see that, but beyond that, he is also an excellent teammate and someone who will fit with the culture of the team," he added.
"After 12 great years with Astana, I am looking for the motivation I need to achieve new goals. Sometimes you need to leave your comfort zone to achieve something new," Lutsenko said.
"I have nothing but good things to say about my time with the Astana team, but I feel I have the potential to do more in a new environment," he added.