Published on : Friday, April 27, 2018
For the cyclists in the tournament, Jerusalem segment will be a time trial, with following Saturday by a 167-kilometer race starting from Haifa to Tel Aviv and then on Sunday by a 230-kilometers stretch from Be’er Sheva to Eilat before the riders return to Italy.
The event will be witnessed by 1 billion people, the first time, ever since 1909 that any segment of the Giro d’Italia will take place outside Europe. The Israeli government has spent tens of millions of shekels in the events in the expectation of raising the profile of the country.
Sylvan Adams, a Canadian Jewish property developer is the man behind this attempt with an estimated net work of $1.7 billion who immigrated to Israel many years back. Adams contributed 70 million shekels ($19.5 million) to bring the race to Israel.
“I have two goals in bringing the Giro race to Israel,” he says. “The first is to show Israel to the rest of the world. Just like the French found a way to advance their culture through the Tour de France, the Italians have done the same with the Giro, and so I hope to show off our little country in the three days of the race. It’s really a unique opportunity to show all parts of the country to the rest of the world.”