The Israel Start-Up Nation riders all made it safely through another crash-marred day at the Tour de France. Guillaume Boivin was the team’s best finisher in 23^rd place.

After two hectic stages, the peloton would have welcomed a relatively easy day in the saddle for the expected bunch sprint on stage 3. However, that didn’t go as planned. Once again, the race provided numerous crashes with several of the sprinters and GC contenders losing time.

Luckily, none of the ISN riders were involved in the many crashes that split the peloton into multiple groups on the final part of the stage. This means that all eight ISN riders will be ready to line up for stage 4, which again should end with a bunch sprint.

Sports director, Rik Verbrugghe: “Today was a really nervous stage, especially towards the end. André [Greipel] had a flat tire with about 30 km to go, which wasn’t exactly an ideal moment with all these narrow roads going up and down. The final was super dangerous, but the good thing is that we passed this stage without any crashes. Now, we look forward to tomorrow.”

Meet The Team

Israel Start-Up Nation is ready to take on the team’s second Tour de France with eight strong riders focusing on both the general classification as well as stage wins throughout the race.

After a tough selection process, the team is proud to announce the following lineup for the Tour:

• Michael Woods
• Dan Martin
• Chris Froome
• Omer Goldstein
• André Greipel
• Reto Hollenstein
• Guillaume Boivin
• Rick Zabel

Sports manager, Rik Verbrugghe: “It’s never easy to make the final selection for the Tour de France. Every rider has his own skill set to offer and we need to bring them all together, working as a team. This is not just about selecting one rider. We have to select a whole group that works well together towards a common goal throughout the three weeks.”

“To start out, Mike will be our main rider for the GC as Dan already did the Giro. But of course, if Dan can add to that tally in the Tour, it will be perfect for us. In fact, we will take on the Tour similar to how we did the Giro, only that we now have two riders to protect. Looking at the team we are bringing, I fully believe we will put our mark on the race.”

Michael Woods: “I am really excited to represent Israel Start-Up Nation in the Tour de France, especially in a team leader role. I have had an opportunity to lead a team in a Grand Tour before, but never at the Tour de France. I am honored to be given this position, especially considering the quality of the team we have.”
“I love racing GC. It’s really challenging and doing it in the Tour is even more challenging, more intense, and much more stressful. But the way I am riding these days, I am up to the challenge. And with the team that we have, we will be a force to be reckoned with.”

Omer Goldstein: “I love to be part of the game. Of course, the Tour de France is the biggest race of them all and the stress in the peloton will be different. However, I am confident that I am ready to help the team and to have an impact on our quest to support Mike and get a stage win.”

For more information about the ISN lineup for the Tour de France, as well as comments from all the selected riders, make sure to check out our dedicated TDF page here.