Israel Cycling Academy hopes Giro launches sport in country
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JERUSALEM -- Of the 22 teams competing in this year's Giro d'Italia, the Israel Cycling Academy squad has perhaps the most at stake.
Israel's first pro cycling team is the event's undoubted underdog. And while team officials say they hope to win a stage or two, their ultimate goal is far loftier -- to parlay their maiden participation in the historic hosting of a Grand Tour event start into a launching pad for cycling to become the country's national sport.
The team, established less than four years ago, received one of the four wild-card invitations by race organizers -- ahead of some far more established squads. They will race with the 18 Pro Tour teams that get automatic entry into an event that is second only to the Tour de France in prestige.
