MAN WITH A PLAN

Israel Start-up Nation co-owner Sylvan Adams tells Cyclist about his vision for the team

Cyclist:

What is your overall goal for Israel Start-up Nation?

Sylvan Adams: We’re perceived as a warzone here in Israel. I want this team to speak to the world about Israel as a country. I want people to see that we are free, open, tolerant, diverse and, most importantly, safe. I brought Lionel Messi here for a football match, and I brought Madonna over for Eurovision.

I’m doing a number of things to speak to the world about Israel.

Cyc:

Did you have discussions with any other teams about a merger before you found Katusha?

SA: I had a deal with this fantastic Worldtour team. It was understood that we would be the dominant controlling shareholder and would continue to be an Israeli team. We had a handshake deal, but they were rescued by a sponsor at the last second. I understood this wasn’t their first choice. I probably met 10 teams, and the Katusha opportunity came up pretty late.

Cyc:

Why did you feel the move to the Worldtour was so important? SA: Procontinental is just a tough gig. It’s ridiculously expensive, and furthermore it’s difficult to draw sponsors because you can’t promise them visibility in high profile races as you never know what race invitations you’ll get. From 2019 to 2020 six Proconti teams will be disappearing.

Six. Two are moving up to the Worldtour, but the rest are moving down or disappearing altogether.

Cyc:

Do you think there’s a problem with the financing of pro cycling? SA: Our sport has to change. Look at football. Arsenal sell tickets and collect TV revenue – sponsorship is really a miscellaneous revenue category for a football club, and yet in cycling we live and die by sponsorship.

Everyone changes their name in cycling. Miguel Indurain won his Grand Tours with Banesto, and what team is Banesto today? If you follow the genealogy you’ll come up to Movistar. How many people know that? It’s a ridiculous way to run a sport. Arsenal will never change their name, nor will the New York Yankees.

Cyc:

We’ve seen other benefactors sweep into the sport and leave it abruptly, disbanding teams in the process. Why are you different? SA: I’ve been asked a lot – is this going to be my story? If you look at the work I’ve been doing, this isn’t about vanity. My name isn’t on the jersey, my country is on the jersey. I’ve moved here and the next chapter of my life will be dedicated to promoting Israel. I see this project as having long legs and I can’t see an issue with sticking with it.

Cyc:

How do you react to claims that the team is ‘sportswashing’ for Israel?

SA: In Tel Aviv we have a very large gay community and we have one of the biggest gay pride parades in the world, and people say that’s ‘pinkwashing’. They say the Giro was sportswashing or your team is sportswashing. And I say everything we do is washing if you choose to view it that way. We sent a project to the Moon, did you know that? I was one of the partners in that. So what was that? Moonwashing?