Israel competes in road cycling for the first time in 64 years
Itamar Einhorn, an Israel Premier-Tech professional cycling team member, has been officially selected by the Israeli Cycling Federation to represent Israel at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
Itamar Einhorn
This marks the end of a 64-year absence of Israeli road cyclists at the Olympics, with Einhorn set to compete on August 3rd.
Einhorn, a sprinter from Modi’in, is the first Israeli to win high-level international professional races. This year alone, he has secured four wins in the Tour of Rwanda and the Tour of Taiwan. The Olympic race will feature a challenging 270-kilometer hilly course with a small peloton of about 85 riders.
Itamar Einhorn said: “Even though I’m used to competing in big races, reaching the Olympics is something else. There’s no athlete who doesn’t dream of being there, and it was my dream too. Representing the country in the road race after 64 years makes the event even more significant and more exciting—it’s definitely a very important milestone in my career. It will be very difficult to control the race, and I’m definitely counting on that. For me, representing Israel in the Olympics is a message of a nation aspiring for peace.”
Einhorn attributes the breakthrough to the efforts of the Israel–Premier Tech team, adding: “This wonderful project, which started ten years ago, gave young Israeli riders the opportunity to compete at high levels and helped them develop—it indeed made a difference. We are seeing more and more Israelis at high levels, and here we are reaching the Olympics. But this process is still ongoing.”
In addition to Einhorn, three more Israeli cyclists will compete in the Paris Olympics in various categories: long-distance cyclist Rotem Gafinovitz, track cyclist Mikhail Lakovlev, and MTB biker Tomer Zaltsman.
The first and last Israelis to compete in road cycling at the Olympics were Henry Ohayon and Yitzhak (Jacque) Ben David at the Rome Olympics in 1960. Ohayon, who continued cycling into his eighties, had hoped to see an Israeli road cyclist in the Olympics. Unfortunately, he passed away last year at the age of 89. “Although I only met Henry once, we didn’t know each other well. But of course, I’ve heard a lot about him. I’m very proud to be the first cyclist returning to the Olympics after such a long period,” Einhorn said.
The Israel-Premier Tech team owner Sylvan Adams commented: “Congratulations to Itamar for being the first Israeli man to compete in the Olympic cycling road race since the current demanding qualification criteria were established in the 1960s. I consider this to be a validation of our Israel – Premier Tech ecosystem, which offers Israelis such as Itamar the opportunity to compete at the highest level of the sport and earn qualification points to reach the Olympics. Itamar is truly deserving of this selection, as he is the only Israeli to win international road races at this level. Itamar has already won four races this year, and we are expecting even more success. I will travel to Paris to be with our Olympic athletes, and will cheer for Itamar during his competition. Good luck, Itamar.”
