Mid-season transfers are rare in the world of professional cycling, but Dylan Theuns has made a shocking move from Bahrain Victorious to Israel Premier Tech.

Bahrain Victorious confirmed in a statement released on social media on Friday that Teuns left the team with immediate effect after joining the team in 2019.

Shortly thereafter, Israel Premier Tech announced the signing of the 30-year-old, leaving a roster slot open due to the departure of Israeli rider Guy Sagiv. The Belgian rider will take on the Vuelta a España and the Italian Classic with his new team and will be in contention for points to defend his World Tour status.

Teuns, whose contract expires at the end of this season anyway, was already in transfer talks with Israel Premier Tec for 2023, but decided to move immediately after receiving an offer from team owner Sylvain Adams.

"We were already in talks with Israel Premier Tech about joining the team in 2023, but Sylvan Adams offered us the chance to move now and start signing immediately. [The three and a half years at Barlain Victorious were my biggest race to win. I can't wait to race at Israel Premier Tech."

Israel Premier Tech continues to fight to remain on the World Tour in 2023. They are currently outside the top 18 teams in the world rankings, 920 points behind 18th-place Movistar.

The team scored two victories (each worth 120 UCI points) at the Tour de France in July by Simon Clark and Ugo Woolf.

However, Tüns' 1,068 points earned in 2022 do not count toward Israel Premier Tech's 2022 point total, and for his points to count at the end of the season, he would need to score over 120 points to be in the team's top 10

"Israeli Premier Teck's points counted toward his total for the year.

"Israel Premier Tech is a team that has really stepped up in the last few years, and it's great to see them take two stage wins at the Tour de France.

"I think the team is becoming one of the top teams. I think I can play an important role in the races that suit me and together with the other leaders in the IPT we can be a really strong team."

Theuns is believed to have been unhappy with the situation at Bahrain-Victorias this season after a series of anti-doping investigations leading up to the Tour de France.

At the start of the Tour last month, Teuns gave an emotional interview to Wieler Fritz.

"It's not an easy thing to talk about. After the Classics I've been working on this topic. I'm in good shape. It's unfortunate that it has to come to this."

"It feels very harsh and unfair. After my victory at La Flèche Wallonne, I was the hero of Flanders. Now I am being killed."

In 2022, he had the best season of his career so far. In the spring, he won his first classic at La Flèche Wallonne, won a stage at the Tour de Romandie, and finished in the top 10 at the Tour of Flanders and Liège-Bastogne-Liège.

However, Bahrain Victorious fell far short of expectations when an anti-doping investigation was launched against team riders and staff the day before the race.

"Dylan Theuns, thank you for your unforgettable four years with us and your great victories in the Tour de France and La Flèche Wallonne. Bahrain Victorious wrote on Twitter when the team announced his departure, "I wish you all the best.

"After the Tour de France, Dylan Tuns is not scheduled to race and Dylan has agreed to race with his new team for the rest of the year to help him transition into next season.