Israel Start-Up Nation makes history as the first Israeli cycling team to compete in the Tour de France

The Tour de France, the most famous cycling event in the world has been held in France every year since 1903. In 2020, for the first time in the history of the event there will be an Israeli-owned cycling team competing at this prestigious world event. The team, Israel Start-Up Nation is made up of a diverse group of cyclists from around the world: Andre Greipel from Germany, Ben Hermans from Belgium, Hugo Hofstetter from France, Dan Martin from Ireland, Krists Neilands from Latvia, Nils Politt from Germany, Tom Van Asbroeck from Belgium, and the first ever Israeli rider to compete in the Tour de France, Guy Niv. Guy Niv is a 26-year-old cyclist originally from Misgav, Israel. He has been a part of the Israel Cycling Academy since 2017 and has been interested in the sport of competitive cycling from a very young age. He asked his parents to take him to the Tour de France as a birthday gift for his Bar Mitzvah, and now in the 107th Tour de France he will proudly compete for Israel. Guy Niv says of being chosen to be a part of the Israel Start-Up Nation team, “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.” This is also a dream come true for the founders of the Israel Cycling Academy, the first ever professional cycling team in Israel. The vision of the ICA, founded in 2015 by Ran Margaliot and Ron Baron, was to provide an opportunity for aspiring cyclists to compete on an international level. Canadian-Israeli philanthropist Sylvan Adams soon joined the efforts and vision of Ran and Ron and by 2020 the team was granted a WorldTour license, giving them access to the Tour de France, among other prestigious competitions. Ron Baron says that they have achieved their biggest dream by being able to compete in this world-famous event and that they “believe that this achievement will inspire the next generation of young Israelis to take on cycling.” Sylvan Adams involvement with Israel Start-Up Nation is one of many projects he is involved in with the goal of presenting Israel in a good light to combat the often harmful media coverage of Israel as nothing but a conflict zone. “Each of the things I do shows another facet of our beautiful country and appeals to a different audience,” he says. This year's race kicked off on August 29th, two months later than usual due to the COVID-19 situation in France. The team will cover a total distance of 3470 km (2156miles) in just over three weeks. The teams are due to cross the finish line on Sunday the 20th of September. The Tour de France is the third most watched sporting event in the world with viewership in the billions. With many other sporting events cancelled or postponed this year due to the pandemic, the Tour de France is an excellent opportunity to support an Israeli team on the world's stage in this historic event, Hopefully for many years to come.