On Friday morning the best cyclists from around the globe assembled in Jerusalem for the start of the world famous Giro d’Italia cycling race.
With 176 cyclists from 22 different teams are geared up to contest on Friday and Saturday in the first leg of the 2018 Giro d’Italia in the warm Middle Eastern temperature and hilly streets.
The Israel Cycling Academy has gathered its own team that is made up of two Israelis in its eight-person team, competing for the first time in the European competition.
The Giro d’Italia cycling race is the second most respected cycling competition after the Tour de France.
This weekend’s race is a landmark moment as it marks for the first time it has started outside of Europe.
The three stages include a 10k Jerusalem piece, followed by a 167-kilometer run from Haifa to Tel Aviv, and a 230-kilometer route from Be’er Sheva to Eilat.
The race will then transfer to Italy, and the island of Sicily, for an early rest day on May 7.
Hosting the event in Israel looks to draw tens of thousands of tourists and a chance to its beautiful landscapes to a global television audience.
