Dan Martin has said he was looking forward to getting stuck into racing with his new Israel Start-Up Nation team and has said the country has really impressed him.
The former Irish champion, classics winner and Grand Tour
stage winner was speaking to the Jerusalem Post at the team launch in Tel Aviv.
While technically a UAE Team Emirates rider until
December 31st, Martin was togged out in his new team kit and was the star turn
at the unveiled of his new team for 2020.
“Five years ago I saw this Israeli team literally appear
out of nowhere,” Dan Martin told The Jerusalem Post.
“It’s safe to say that this time last year it was never in mind that I would be standing here now.”
However, as contract talks opened he immediately had the
impression of a very welcoming team and had been very impressed with Israel on
his visit there in recent days.
Advertisement
Related News
"The place is just completely amazing, and it makes
me proud of what this team has done for (Israel),” he said. “The diversity of the team is representative
of this country.
“And also innovation and the progressiveness is important
in cycling and that's what attracted me to the team.
“That's why I wanted to join this team; to have the best
equipment and the best new ideas, and I know I’ll be surrounded by that while
I'm in Israel.
“I've only been in Israel four days, Saturday night we
arrived. I have been completely amazed by the country. Tel Aviv and
the progressive nature of innovation
here; it's all got a sort of international feel.
“One day
after I arrived here on Sunday, I messaged my wife and said we need to come
here, I can't believe we've never been here.
“It's a completely different feeling then to what we read
in the media at home. It's wrong.
“There's
obviously a lot of political things going on here and we don't really want to
get on the political side of things because this is a sport as well as an
adventure, but it's not representative of the real feeling."
Topics
