After two years with ProTeam Israel-Premier Tech, Mason Hollyman will step down to the Continental ranks for 2025, the Huddersfield puncheur signing a one year deal with UCI Continental outfit Sabgal/Anicolor with a view to rejoining the sport’s elite in 2025.
“That will be the big goal for next year,” an enthusiastic Hollyman confirms in an interview with The British Continental, the Portuguese team fast becoming a destination of choice for riders looking to regain a professional contract; Cofidis exile Harrison Wood also joins Hollyman in the team, which saw Julius Johansen pen a deal with UAE Team Emirates for 2025.
I don’t know if I see it so much as proving myself again, but it’s a good place to try and show, after not the best few years for myself, that I’m still a good enough rider
“They reached out to me a good few months ago, and it was something, to be honest, that from the start I was quite interested in really,” the 24-year-old explains. “The calendar looks great, really, and it seems like a well set up team. [There’s] a good mix of .1s and the odd Portuguese race. Obviously, the Volta a Portugal stands out, it’s a super nice race for climbers. I think it’s a really nice mix to show yourself again.”
Mason Hollyman at the 2021 AJ Bell Tour of Britain. Image: SWpix.com
Hollyman won a stage of the Volta a Portugal race in 2021 whilst riding for the Israel Cycling Academy, a result which underlined his potential and helped send him on the path to the senior team.
Returning to the race four years later, Hollyman sees the race as an opportunity to showcase his talents, rather than having to prove himself once more. “I guess for me, it’s quite nice to go back and try and get another win, if I race,” he says, thoughtfully. “I don’t know if I see it so much as proving myself again, but it’s a good place to try and show, after not the best few years for myself, that I’m still a good enough rider, keep myself in the eye, I guess.”
The move to Sabgal/Anicolor is something of a fresh start for Hollyman after spending four years within Sylvan Adams’ structure, two with the Israel Cycling Academy and two with the ProTeam.
I’m quite looking forward to a new challenge, a new set-up, and a new way of doing things
“As much as I enjoyed my time on the team, I’m quite looking forward to a new challenge, a new set-up, and a new way of doing things,” he explains, the move bringing numerous changes including a new Spanish coach alongside a new role and approach to racing.
“I think [Israel-PremierTech] was the first real high-level team I’d been on, so it’ll be nice to see how Sabgal does things. It’ll be interesting to see both sides. I think on this team [I’ll be] getting a bit more freedom and my own lead into races, maybe a slightly more relaxed outlook on things, and getting the little things right for this next season and seeing how that works out for me, really.”
Mason Hollyman wearing a Robin Hood Hat at the 2022 AJ Bell Tour of Britain. Image: Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com
Hollyman enjoyed success in his two years with Israel-Premier Tech, taking a stage win in the Taiwan Tour at the start of 2024 on the back of a strong 7th place at the Czech Tour the season prior. Despite this, Hollyman insists we’re yet to see the best of him.
The last few years for me have just been a bit up and down really with some little health issues here and there, nothing major to be honest, but things that have stopped me performing at my best
“The last few years for me have just been a bit up and down really with some little health issues here and there, nothing major to be honest, but things that have stopped me performing at my best, and the reality is I think I need to improve those aspects myself before I think I can perform at my best,” he reveals.
Hollyman has gone head to head with some of cycling’s brightest talents in his career thus far, taking on the likes of German prodigy Florian Lipowitz at the Czech Tour and Belgian climber Lennert Van Eetvelt in his under-23 days. However, the Yorkshireman is focused purely on his own path rather than looking at the trajectory of his peers: Lipowitz recording a top ten at the Vuelta a Espana this summer, Van Eetvelt a WorldTour stage race winner.
“The main motivation for me now is not looking too much at the surroundings around me and what other riders are doing,” he explains. “It’s a case of me believing in the level I can get to next year and seeing where that takes me. I see it as more of a simple thing, rather than the moving parts, the uncontrollables around me of how good other riders are, more just about myself getting where I feel in shape and seeing what I can do with that.”
Image: Israel-Premier Tech
Passionate and motivated, Hollyman appears not to be phased by the challenge in front of him as he heads into perhaps his most crucial season yet; age and experience, in his eyes, an advantage in the fight for a professional contract. “I think for me, I would have thought it should be a little bit easier since I’ve already been there for a few years,” he explains, when asked about the penchant for teams to look towards increasingly younger riders.
As many good riders as there are coming through now, I’m only 24, I still have my best years to come
“As many good riders as there are coming through now, I’m only 24, I still have my best years to come. Not forgetting either, I think many of the young kids coming through now probably do as many, if not more, hours on the bike than I’ve done in the past few years. So I think although they’re younger, they reach their peak earlier than me.”
Naturally suited to the Ardennes, Hollyman can perhaps count himself unfortunate to have not yet ridden the Spring races that suit him best, particularly following his 5th place in the under-23 version of Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2022, where he fought for the victory from the leading group.
Image: Israel-Premier Tech
“A little bit,” he admits, when asked if it was a disappointment to have missed out on selection for those races this year. However, reflecting further, Hollyman appears at peace with his time on Israel-Premier Tech, and is very much looking forward to new challenges. “On Israel-Premier Tech there are a lot of good riders now and I think with my preparations to races not always going right, I think it’s fair to say the team probably lost a bit of trust in me the last year, and you know that’s fine.
The main thing for me is just getting fully healthy and then I think I can get back to the level I think I can be
“In my head I knew I needed to do one more good result somewhere in Europe to stay with the team, and to be honest I wasn’t really looking for a race just to get a result at. I think I have quite a good outlook in the sense that in the end, the main thing for me is just getting fully healthy and then I think I can get back to the level I think I can be, it’s quite simple for me in that aspect.”
After two years with ProTeam Israel-Premier Tech, Mason Hollyman will step down to the Continental ranks for 2025, the Huddersfield puncheur signing a one year deal with UCI Continental outfit Sabgal/Anicolor with a view to rejoining the sport’s elite in 2025.
“That will be the big goal for next year,” an enthusiastic Hollyman confirms in an interview with The British Continental, the Portuguese team fast becoming a destination of choice for riders looking to regain a professional contract; Cofidis exile Harrison Wood also joins Hollyman in the team, which saw Julius Johansen pen a deal with UAE Team Emirates for 2025.
“They reached out to me a good few months ago, and it was something, to be honest, that from the start I was quite interested in really,” the 24-year-old explains. “The calendar looks great, really, and it seems like a well set up team. [There’s] a good mix of .1s and the odd Portuguese race. Obviously, the Volta a Portugal stands out, it’s a super nice race for climbers. I think it’s a really nice mix to show yourself again.”
Hollyman won a stage of the Volta a Portugal race in 2021 whilst riding for the Israel Cycling Academy, a result which underlined his potential and helped send him on the path to the senior team.
Returning to the race four years later, Hollyman sees the race as an opportunity to showcase his talents, rather than having to prove himself once more. “I guess for me, it’s quite nice to go back and try and get another win, if I race,” he says, thoughtfully. “I don’t know if I see it so much as proving myself again, but it’s a good place to try and show, after not the best few years for myself, that I’m still a good enough rider, keep myself in the eye, I guess.”
The move to Sabgal/Anicolor is something of a fresh start for Hollyman after spending four years within Sylvan Adams’ structure, two with the Israel Cycling Academy and two with the ProTeam.
“As much as I enjoyed my time on the team, I’m quite looking forward to a new challenge, a new set-up, and a new way of doing things,” he explains, the move bringing numerous changes including a new Spanish coach alongside a new role and approach to racing.
“I think [Israel-PremierTech] was the first real high-level team I’d been on, so it’ll be nice to see how Sabgal does things. It’ll be interesting to see both sides. I think on this team [I’ll be] getting a bit more freedom and my own lead into races, maybe a slightly more relaxed outlook on things, and getting the little things right for this next season and seeing how that works out for me, really.”
Hollyman enjoyed success in his two years with Israel-Premier Tech, taking a stage win in the Taiwan Tour at the start of 2024 on the back of a strong 7th place at the Czech Tour the season prior. Despite this, Hollyman insists we’re yet to see the best of him.
“The last few years for me have just been a bit up and down really with some little health issues here and there, nothing major to be honest, but things that have stopped me performing at my best, and the reality is I think I need to improve those aspects myself before I think I can perform at my best,” he reveals.
Hollyman has gone head to head with some of cycling’s brightest talents in his career thus far, taking on the likes of German prodigy Florian Lipowitz at the Czech Tour and Belgian climber Lennert Van Eetvelt in his under-23 days. However, the Yorkshireman is focused purely on his own path rather than looking at the trajectory of his peers: Lipowitz recording a top ten at the Vuelta a Espana this summer, Van Eetvelt a WorldTour stage race winner.
“The main motivation for me now is not looking too much at the surroundings around me and what other riders are doing,” he explains. “It’s a case of me believing in the level I can get to next year and seeing where that takes me. I see it as more of a simple thing, rather than the moving parts, the uncontrollables around me of how good other riders are, more just about myself getting where I feel in shape and seeing what I can do with that.”
Passionate and motivated, Hollyman appears not to be phased by the challenge in front of him as he heads into perhaps his most crucial season yet; age and experience, in his eyes, an advantage in the fight for a professional contract. “I think for me, I would have thought it should be a little bit easier since I’ve already been there for a few years,” he explains, when asked about the penchant for teams to look towards increasingly younger riders.
“As many good riders as there are coming through now, I’m only 24, I still have my best years to come. Not forgetting either, I think many of the young kids coming through now probably do as many, if not more, hours on the bike than I’ve done in the past few years. So I think although they’re younger, they reach their peak earlier than me.”
Naturally suited to the Ardennes, Hollyman can perhaps count himself unfortunate to have not yet ridden the Spring races that suit him best, particularly following his 5th place in the under-23 version of Liege-Bastogne-Liege in 2022, where he fought for the victory from the leading group.
“A little bit,” he admits, when asked if it was a disappointment to have missed out on selection for those races this year. However, reflecting further, Hollyman appears at peace with his time on Israel-Premier Tech, and is very much looking forward to new challenges. “On Israel-Premier Tech there are a lot of good riders now and I think with my preparations to races not always going right, I think it’s fair to say the team probably lost a bit of trust in me the last year, and you know that’s fine.
“In my head I knew I needed to do one more good result somewhere in Europe to stay with the team, and to be honest I wasn’t really looking for a race just to get a result at. I think I have quite a good outlook in the sense that in the end, the main thing for me is just getting fully healthy and then I think I can get back to the level I think I can be, it’s quite simple for me in that aspect.”
Featured image: SWPix.com
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