Nadav Raisberg made history Sunday, with the 25-year-old rider from Kibbutz Dafna winning the green jersey at the prestigious Tour Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, formerly the Dauphiné.
Raisberg, a member of the NSN team, won the title awarded to the race’s points leader after 1,200 kilometers and several punishing climbs in the Alps.
He took control of the jersey last week with a strong second stage, finishing eighth, and fought to defend it with three breakaways and four intermediate sprint victories that earned him points. In the fifth stage, he finished seventh, strengthening his hold on first place in the sprinters’ standings.
On Sunday, in the eighth stage, he held on to celebrate the biggest achievement of his career. Mexico’s Isaac del Toro completed a comeback with a win in the final stage, securing the overall title.
“I’m living the dream,” an exhausted Raisberg said at the finish. “This is only the beginning. I’m proud of my people, happy to see the name ‘Israel’ announced on the podium and convinced that Israeli children will be inspired and go above and beyond.
“I didn’t doubt myself. When I was riding the final meters uphill, I couldn’t stop thinking about my country and how proud I am of it. Of course it was hard, but this jersey gave me strength. This is definitely not the peak. Greater achievements will come.”
Dror Pekatch, the team’s Israeli sports director, said Raisberg’s accomplishment was twofold. “Nadav’s achievement this week is both winning a very prestigious jersey in one of the races where teams select riders for the Tour de France, and the fact that he got into three breakaways after long physical and mental battles,” Pekatch said. “And the beauty of it is that he does it all with a smile and without drama. An achievement like this can be a turning point in a career, and I hope that will be the case.”