The Israel Cycling Academy is poised to make the jump to the WorldTour level in 2020 with the acquisition of the Katusha-Alpecin team.

According to Cycling News, the deal to acquire the management company that runs the Swiss-registered team is underway and is just days away from being finalized.

The Israel Cycling Academy has announced its intention to move to the WorldTour as soon as possible, while the future of the Katusha-Alpecin team has been in question since presenting sponsor Alpecin and bike sponsor Canyon announced their departure.

Buying a World Tour license for the Katusha-Alpecin team is the most direct path for Israel Cycling Academy, which started as a continental team in 2015, to make the jump to the World Tour, and is the team's co-owner would earn an automatic invitation to the 2020 Tour de France, one of Sylvain Adams' biggest goals.

Russian oligarch Igor Makarov, despite being a prominent member of the UCI Management Committee, no longer seems willing to fund the team.

According to Cyclingnews, by acquiring Katusha Alpecin's management company, the Israel Cycling Academy will be able to keep 11 Katusha riders under contract through 2020, including Nils Pollitt, who finished second in Paris-Roubaix can be.

Israel Cycling Academy riders currently under contract for 2020 and 2021 will also be guaranteed a position on the new WorldTour team, unless they choose otherwise.

José Azevedo recently told Cycling News that he intends to end his tenure as Katusha's team manager, and Israel Cycling Academy manager Kjell Carlstrom is expected to take over the team. Karlström, a former Finnish pro, faces a race against time to take over and complete his World Tour registration.

The Israel Cycling Academy declined to comment on a possible takeover when contacted by Cycling News.

The Israel Cycling Academy recently signed Dan Martin to a two-year contract through 2021. Meanwhile, current team leader Ben Hellmans, whose contract expires this season, indicated that he may re-sign with the team for the Tour of Utah.

Others include Enrico Battaglin, Yente Biermans, Jens Debusschere, Alex Dowsett, Reto Horenstein, Daniel Navarro, Dmitry Strahov, Harry Tanfield, Mads Wurz Schmidt, and Rick Zabel. 2020 contract riders.

Ilnur Zakarin has already decided to move to the CCC team in 2020, and Marcel Kittel has announced his retirement after a summer away from racing.

The Israel Cycling Academy's 2020 signees include Matteo Badilatti, Davide Timolai, Itamar Einhorn, Hugo Hofstetter, Christo Neilands, Mikkel Raim, and Tom Van Asbroeck.

Team management has made it clear that maintaining the team's Israeli identity and full control of the program is a top priority, so the team is the first Israeli to complete a Grand Tour at the 2018 Giro d'Italia It is likely that the team will bring several Israeli riders, including Guy Sagiv. Other Israeli riders include Roy Goldstein, Guy Niv, and Omer Goldstein.