Chris Fromm will make his debut for the Israeli cycling group Startup Nation in the United Arab Emirates’ six-day race this coming Sunday. The team landed in Dubai on Thursday. It landed in Dubai under the shadow of the corona and will open the race on Sunday.
“This will be my first race with the team – and the start of a journey and adventure is very exciting for me. I look forward to competing alongside my teammates and testing my ability after a successful winter of training,” Fromm said.
Fromm suffered a serious injury and recovered from it along with the team in a three-month training series in California, the main goal being that he would be fully fit for the Tour de France. “We are seeing signs of improvement in his condition,” said team manager Paulo Sladnia. Owner Sylvan Adams said: “Happy to return to the Emirates, I believe the group has a role to play in building bridges for peace.”
Israel Startup Nation puts the team strong for a race that also includes German sprinter Andre Greifel, Belgian climber Ben Hermans and Briton Alex Dawest who brought the team its historic victory at the Giro d’Italia last season.
The team also has high hopes for Israeli champion Omar Goldstein, who is coming to the opening race after a successful season that ended with an excellent performance in the Spanish column. “I have a lot of expectations of myself to upgrade and prove that I can be a significant factor and help big riders like Fromm who have joined the team,” he said. Omar said that he would appear here for the first time in the uniform of the Israeli champion.
The full line-up of Israel Startup Nation: Omar Goldstein, Chris Fromm (UK), Alex Dowst (UK), Matthias Brandella (Austria), Andre Greifel (Germany), Ben Hermans (Belgium), Rick Zabel (Germany).