Team Israel Start-Up Nation is eager and ready to take on its very first Tour de France – and this year’s edition is a great one! Mountains, mountains, and more mountains will challenge our eight riders on their three-week trip from Nice to the Champs Elysees.
What will they face? A few sprints, a lot of climbing (and we mean A LOT), hard work and enormous satisfaction.
Dan Martin, Andre Greipel, Nils Politt, Hugo Hofstetter, Guy Niv, Ben Hermans, Tom Van Asbroeck and Krists Neilands – eight riders from six different countries – will proudly wear the Israeli team kit during the historic moment at the start line in Nice on Saturday, August 29.
Ben Hermans
It is a moment of multiple debuts: the first Israeli team to ride the Tour: the first Israeli rider, Guy Niv, to ride the Tour; the first Tour de France for Niv, Hofstetter, Hermans, Van Asbroeck and Neilands; and the first Grand Tour at all for Hofstetter.
And of course, the first Tour to start the end of August!
Team co-owner Sylvan Adams: “This is a special moment for our Israel Start-up Nation team, as we embark on our first competition around ‘la grande boucle’ in cycling’s biggest race. I’m looking forward to the journey and seeing the riders finish in grand style in Paris in three weeks.”
Team manager Kjell Carlström: “We have put together a team that we believe is best for our strategy.”
“We are hunting for stage wins and as the parcours is demanding, we have opted for having all possibilities covered. All the teams, of course, are out for success, but we’re focused on our goal to win a stage.”
AND WHAT DO OUR RIDERS THINK OF THIS GREAT CHALLENGE?
Team captain Dan Martin: “I’m truly grateful to the team for being so patient and allowing me the time to really assess my condition after the crash in the Dauphine. I expect to suffer through the first stages as I have missed a bit of training, but I am incredibly excited to use my experience in the race to help the team. Once I get back into the rhythm of racing I will look for opportunities to take a stage win.”
Andre Greipel: “This will be a great celebration as the first Tour for the Israeli team and with the first Israeli rider. The team can be proud. But it will be a challenge!”
Guy Niv: “I am honored and privileged to represent my country and team in the biggest race in cycling and one of the greatest sporting events in the world. And to be the first Israeli to do so? It might sound like a cliché, but it’s a dream come true.
