January 08, 2019 (Tel Aviv, Israel) – The Israel Cycling Academy (ICA) is kicking off their 2019 season with a training camp in Israel, Jan. 7-12, including Canada’s Alex Cataford. He’s one of the new members of the squad and joins fellow Canucks, Guillaume Boivin and Benjamin Perry, as the Pro Continental team boasts one of the largest team roster in the UCI with 30 riders.

The composite team will be riding aggressively for UCI points and expects to have three or four squads in action at any given time. The intent is to be one of the top two Pro Conti teams and thereby receive automatic admission to the Grand Tours in 2020.

The Israeli team already enjoys a strong bond with Canada as it’s led by Canadian-Israeli philanthropist and co-owner, Sylvan Adams, a Montreal native and avid cyclist who recently immigrated back to Israel and is the driving force behind ICA. He holds six Canadian Masters titles, four Pan American golds, and two World Champion titles.

The new team, guests and ICA founder, Ron Baron, were welcomed at Adams’ penthouse beach-front suite in Tel Aviv to kick off the camp that includes a visit to the country’s new Velodrome.

Last year cycling in the Middle East received a huge boost when the 2018 Giro d’Italia’s Big Start was held in Israel, the first time a Grand Tour race was held outside of Europe. Cataford, 25, finished off his season last year with a stellar 3rd overall at the Tour of Taihu Lake here – read about his signing with ICA here.

Stay tuned for more coverage from the Holy Land.