𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗝𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗖𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗔𝗺𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗵 𝗼𝗻 𝟳 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 Teenage cyclists Itai, who lost his right eye on that nightmarish day, and Zohar, who was shot in the shoulder, returned to…
"They are amazing boys with inspiring determination" - Guy Niv admires the dedication of young cyclists caught in the Hamas ambush
OtherFriday, 17 November 2023 at 02:30
It seemed like a routine play on the track of the Velodrome in Tel Aviv: young riders circling on their bikes along the inclined walls, lap after lap. But the tears of emotion mixed with a bit of fear in the eyes of the mothers and fathers watching hinted at the immense emotional burden behind this scene.
"I have a strong and optimistic child," said Erez Cohen, pointing to his 15-year-old son Itai, who pedaled with surprising confidence considering this was his first time back on a bike just over five weeks after being injured and losing his eye in the Hamas ambush. "It was great to get back to riding. I missed it," said Itai, whose face still bears the marks of the shrapnel.
"To see 'my kids' back on bikes here in the Velodrome alongside Israel’s national team riders gives me real hope that we have begun the journey back to life. A kind of 'restart'," said coach Judith Bdolach. "They’re not themselves yet. It will take a lot to overcome the traumas that haunt them and all of us, but getting back on the bikes and especially the embrace and understanding that someone finally 'sees' them, 'counts' them, and stands behind them – this will give them the desire and motivation to return to the sport they so loved."
"They are amazing boys with inspiring determination," said Guy Niv, the first Israeli rider to finish the Tour de France. Niv visited Itai and Zohar in the hospital and yesterday met them on their first ride.
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- Froome is less than 2 millions now since his team is no more in WT. All sources for Roglic say it is between 4 and 4.5 millions, not 5.5. Evenepoel is now 5 millions, so more than these two. Poor researches here.Acapulco08-11-2024
- wow, you’re like a REALLY angry little fella, aren’t you? these discussions are supposed to be FUN, brother. if you find them this upsetting you should MAYYYYBE go for a walk, or get some tropical fish to look at or something. beyond my concern for your emotional well being, i gotta say i don’t understand a few things you tried to say. your point about van der poel at liege? i don’t get it. and exactly who are the “you people” who are persecuting you over pogacar’s walk-over at the giro. anyway, good luck with everything.OCexile08-11-2024
- Lefevere is such a clown.Sweep08-11-2024
- You're spewing nonsense. MVDP was at Liege too. Jonas did his best ever numbers in the Tour, as did Evenepoel. In the worlds, MVDP wasn't the only one chasing and a large part of the route was flat. Oh, did you forget that Pogi soloed 80 ks? What about the 80ks at Strade Bianche? The training ride at the Lombardia? And man, I can't stand how dismissive you people are of his Giro dominance. "There wasn't anyone around to challenge him" yeah well whenever a cyclist wins it's because there was no one else around who would be good enough. I'm sick of this imaginary opponents argument. Who was supposed to be there to challenge him anyways? Do you think Roglic or Evenepoel could do anything? Or Vingegaard, who always trains to peak for the Tour?Ayrton08-11-2024
- What a great ride that day, and what a great young rider. I am really looking forward to what he'll do next, and his attitude about racing is great. Let's hope he keeps that.RidesHills08-11-2024
- everyone should TRY to remember that just a year ago it was pascal the couldn’t remotely hang with vingegaard at the tour. the explanation for that was that pog had injured his wrist and that had interfered with his preparation. compare what a damaged wrist would do to your prep vs. what happened to vingegaard. i think a 100% healthy pogacar vs. a 100% healthy vingegaard at the tour is just about even money. hopefully that’s what we’ll get.OCexile08-11-2024
- i still believe that a thoroughly healthy jonas is at least a match for pogačar. i think some of tadej’s new aura of crushing invincibility comes from a year when everything lined up for him just right. to be clear, i’m NOT saying he’s not the most gifted rider on the planet! he IS! but… liége is made for him; there was NOBODY at the giro to challenge; jonas, for all his spirit, was broken and a shell of his true self at the tour. the Worlds course was a perfect fit for this year for pog, where slimmed down but still MUCH bigger van der poel still kept the gap under a minute in a course that REALLY didn’t suit HIM. my point is that i actually don’t think tadej suddenly launched himself to a level of ability far, far above where he’d been before. he’s a great rider that had an historically great year, but i don’t believe he’s become something NEW, and UNBEATABLE. if he’s fully healthy, i really expect jonas to be as much of a handful for pog as pog is for him.OCexile08-11-2024
- seriously, ESPECIALLY when paired with each other. when they put bob with phil, it’s like bob KNOWS he needs to tighten everything up because phil (god bless him) is losing his marbles. bob is actually pretty GOOD when he’s on phil duty. and when they took vande velde OUT of the booth with bob an put him on the back of a motorcycle, he was suddenly smart and edgy again. put those two guys TOGETHER though, and bob suddenly becomes the dumbest, sloppiest, most ill-informed pogacar and van aert fanboy on the planet, unleashing a constant stream of dim-witted, chuckling hyperbole, and christian is his enabling toady. yuk. after GCN folded i had to listen to wayyyy to much of their “dumb and dumber” show. they must be separated forever.OCexile08-11-2024
- Good news. Cycling world at least doesn't have rampant racism. But, I think it is partly because it is hard to dislike Biniam. He seems like a jolly good person even though he's a sprinter. Some sprinters are very aggressive/cocky.
KerisVroom08-11-2024 - Good news. Cycling world at least doesn't have rampant racism. But, I think it is partly because it is hard to dislike Biniam. He seems like a jolly good person even though he's a sprinter. Some sprinters are very aggressive/cocky.KerisVroom08-11-2024