Israel Start-Up Nation

Israel Start-Up Nation

Team information
UCI code	ISN
Registered	Israel
Founded	2015 (2015)
Discipline(s)	Road
Status	UCI Continental (2015–2016) UCI Professional Continental (2017–2019) UCI World Tour (2020- )
Bicycles	Factor
Website	Team home page
Key personnel
Team manager(s)	Kjell Carlström Nicki Sørensen
Team name history
2015–2016 2017–2019 2020–	Cycling Academy Team Israel Cycling Academy Israel Start-Up Nation
Current season

Israel Start-Up Nation (UCI team code: ISN) is a UCI World Tour team founded in 2014 by Ron Baron and Ran Margaliot and based in Israel. Before 2020 the team was known as Israel Cycling Academy.

History[]

Israel Cycling Academy (2014–2019)[]

In November 2014, Ron Baron and Ran Margaliot launched the Israel Cycling Academy (ICA), with the aim of providing an opportunity for young and talented cyclists to compete in the international arena and launch their professional careers. This team was intended to provide inspiration, hope and faith to future generations of Israelis. ^[1] The team's first victory came in the fourth stage of the 2015 Tour d'Azerbaïdjan, won by Daniel Turek.^[2] On 2 July 2015, the Israeli Road Racing Champion Guy Sagiv joined the ranks of ICA.^[3]

In 2018, the team participated in a cycling monument event for the first time – 2018 Milan-San Remo, and in a grand tour for the first time – the 2018 Giro d'Italia. The Giro d’Italia opening stage took place in Jerusalem on 4 May 2018 – the first time in the Giro‘s 101 years of existence that it has started outside Europe. The Giro held its second and third stages in Israel before it continued onto European soil. The three stages raced in Israel attracted considerable interest from the Israeli public, with many thousands of Israelis lining up along the route and supporting the riders and especially the ICA home team. It was considered a significant success. ICA co-owner Sylvan Adams was the driving force behind the Giro’s "Big Start" in Israel, having financed a significant part of the race budget. ICA's best performance in the Giro was recorded in the 18th stage, when its Spanish rider Ruben Plaza finished in second place. Three days later when the team completed the Giro in Rome, Guy Sagiv became the first-ever Israeli cyclist to finish a grand tour.^{[citation needed]}

In 2019, in its fifth season of existence, ICA enlarged its team roster to 30 riders and set up a racing program that has exceeded 250 racing days all around the globe. The team was invited to take part in the Giro d’Italia In May 2019 and will make its first appearance in the Tour of California. The team owners, Ron Baron and Sylvan Adams, have set the team's goal as participation in the world’s biggest races including the Tour de France, in order to continue inspiring and developing a new generation of Israeli cyclists. In January 2019 the team opened three cycling special youth programs in Israel and formed a youth cycling team in the Arab village of Shfaram. To further develop young Israeli cyclists, ICA operates a development team with a select group of under-23 riders. They have also established a special partnership with one of the leading French amateur teams – Côte d’Armor – which enables its young development team riders to race in France and gain valuable experience overseas.^{[citation needed]}

Israel Start-Up Nation (since 2020)[]

In October 2019, ICA completed the takeover of UCI World Tour team Katusha-Alpecin, including its UCI WorldTour license. As a result, ICA was due to become a UCI World Tour team, pending UCI approval.^[4] The UCI approved the team's promotion to World Tour status in December of that year, and the team subsequently changed its name to Israel Start-Up Nation, while the former name became the name of the team's continental level development squad.^[5] In July 2020 it was announced that 7 time Grand Tour winner Chris Froome would join the team for the 2021 season.^[6]

In August and September 2020 Israel Start-Up nation took part in the 2020 Tour de France, finishing 19th out of 22 teams in the Team classification.^[7] On 11 October 2020 the team won a Grand Tour stage for the first time when British rider Alex Dowsett won Stage 8 of the 2020 Giro d'Italia.^[8] They won another Grand Tour stage 11 days later when Irish rider Dan Martin won Stage 3 of the 2020 Vuelta a España, a result that also took him up from 3rd to 2nd in the General classification, as well as from 3rd to 2nd in the Points classification and from 7th to 2nd in the Mountains classification; he eventually finished 4th in the General classification, 3rd in the Points classification, and 10th in the Mountains classification, while Israel Start-Up Nation finished 18th out of 22 in the Team classification.^[9][10] On 4 December 2020, the team announced Cherie Pridham as a new sports director, the first woman to assume the role on a men's world tour team.^[11][12]

In the 2021 Giro d'Italia in May, Alessandro De Marchi of Italy briefly wore the maglia rosa as leader of the General Classification after Stages 4 and 5, while Dan Martin won Stage 17 and finished 10th overall, and Davide Cimolai of italy finished 2nd in the Points classification. The team itself finished as one of 3 teams with no penalty points in the Fair Play classification, though tie-breakers^[13] meant that it finished third in the classification (because Dan Martin's 10th on General Classification was bettered by Tobias Foss in 9th for Team Jumbo–Visma and by Damiano Caruso in 2nd for Team Bahrain Victorious).

Team roster[]

As of 1 January 2021.^[14]

Rider Date of birth  Rudy Barbier (FRA) (1992-12-18) 18 December 1992 (age 28)  Sebastian Berwick (AUS) (1999-12-15) 15 December 1999 (age 21)  Patrick Bevin (NZL) (1991-02-15) 15 February 1991 (age 30)  Jenthe Biermans (BEL) (1995-10-30) 30 October 1995 (age 25)  Guillaume Boivin (CAN) (1989-05-25) 25 May 1989 (age 32)  Matthias Brändle (AUT) (1989-12-07) 7 December 1989 (age 31)  Alexander Cataford (CAN) (1993-09-01) 1 September 1993 (age 28)  Davide Cimolai (ITA) (1989-08-13) 13 August 1989 (age 32)  Alessandro De Marchi (ITA) (1986-05-19) 19 May 1986 (age 35)  Alex Dowsett (GBR) (1988-10-03) 3 October 1988 (age 32)  Itamar Einhorn (ISR) (1997-09-20) 20 September 1997 (age 23)  Chris Froome (GBR) (1985-05-20) 20 May 1985 (age 36)  Omer Goldstein (ISR) (1996-08-13) 13 August 1996 (age 25)  André Greipel (GER) (1982-07-16) 16 July 1982 (age 39)  Carl Fredrik Hagen (NOR) (1991-09-26) 26 September 1991 (age 29)  Ben Hermans (BEL) (1986-06-08) 8 June 1986 (age 35)

Rider Date of birth  Hugo Hofstetter (FRA) (1994-02-13) 13 February 1994 (age 27)  Reto Hollenstein (SUI) (1985-08-22) 22 August 1985 (age 36)  Daryl Impey (RSA) (1984-12-06) 6 December 1984 (age 36)  Dan Martin (IRL) (1986-08-20) 20 August 1986 (age 35)  Krists Neilands (LAT) (1994-08-18) 18 August 1994 (age 27)  Guy Niv (ISR) (1994-03-08) 8 March 1994 (age 27)  James Piccoli (CAN) (1991-09-05) 5 September 1991 (age 30)  Alexis Renard (FRA) (1999-06-01) 1 June 1999 (age 22)  Guy Sagiv (ISR) (1994-12-05) 5 December 1994 (age 26)  Norman Vahtra (EST) (1996-11-23) 23 November 1996 (age 24)  Tom Van Asbroeck (BEL) (1990-04-19) 19 April 1990 (age 31)  Sep Vanmarcke (BEL) (1988-07-28) 28 July 1988 (age 33)  Michael Woods (CAN) (1986-10-12) 12 October 1986 (age 34)  Mads Würtz Schmidt (DEN) (1994-03-31) 31 March 1994 (age 27)  Rick Zabel (GER) (1993-12-07) 7 December 1993 (age 27)

Major wins[]

National champions[]

See also[]

• Sports in Israel

References[]

External links[]

• Official website