Guy Niv today (Wednesday) provided a most impressive performance in the opening section of the prestigious column, Tirano Adriatico, racing out across Italy all the way to the Adriatic Sea. The first Israeli to compete in the Tour de France was among the escape riders and demonstrated aggression from the jump.
At the last minute, Startup Nation had to give up the participation of its stars Dan Martin and Mike Woods due to illness, and the team replaced a diskette from competing for a general victory in an attempt to surprise with sprints and escapes. Niv performed this role well when he rode over 140 km in front of the race with 4 more fugitives. Towards the end he went on a desperate attack that was stopped by the platoon.
Startup Nation managed to place Frenchman Hugo Hofstetter in tenth place, at a stage when the Belgian Watt Van Art victory of Yombo Wisma. In second place finished Caleb Yuan and in third place was Fernando Gaviria.
Accompanying Niv on the run is Sherry Friedham, the team’s sports director, the first woman to serve on the World Tour team ever.
The stage breakaway, a battle for the KOM and a solid lead-out that ended with 10th place for @hugohofstetter.
We asked @ guyniv1 to sum it up. #YallaISN # TirrenoAdriático pic.twitter.com/2zNEKPGnD9
– Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@TeamIsraelSUN) March 10, 2021