Israel Start-Up Nation
Israel Start-Up Nation was officially named what from 2020 to 2021?
Israel Start-Up Nation 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 . Prior to 2020 the team was known as Israel Cycling Academy . History . In November 2014 , the pair 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 . The teams first ever victory came in the fourth stage of the 2015 Tour dAzerbaïdjan , which was won by Daniel Turek . On 2 July 2015 , the Israeli Road Racing Champion Guy Sagiv joined the ranks of ICA . 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 dItalia . The Giro d’Italia opening stage took place in Jerusalem on May 4 , 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 . ICAs 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 . 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 teams 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 . 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 . The UCI approved the teams 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 teams continental level development squad . In July 2020 it was announced that 7 time Grand Tour winner Chris Froome would join the team for the 2021 season . In August and September 2020 they took part in the 2020 Tour de France , finishing 19th out of 22 teams in the Team classification . 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 dItalia . 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 . On December 4 , 2020 , the team announced Cherie Pridham as a new sports director , the first woman to assume the role on a mens world tour team . In the 2021 Giro dItalia 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 meant that it finished third in the classification ( because Dan Martins 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 ) . National champions . - 2015 - 2016 - 2017 - 2018 - 2019 - 2020