Bloch Davidov steals the show at time trials
CYCLING SHANI Bloch Davidov (39) secured the win and with it the Individual Time Trial Championship of Israel from a small field which included other leading elite professional riders.
Bloch Davidov demonstrated her superiority in outclassing the field on the coastal course from Atlit and Zikhron Ya’akov interchange, averaging 44kph for the 28km event.
Only Rotem Gaffinovitz, 25, could challenge, returning a time 30 seconds adrift of Bloch Davidov’s 38:19, with former champion Paz Bash, 34, a further 2:07 behind.
Bloch Davidov commented: “It was a very hard effort to win the National TT and I’m very happy with my results.
“This past few weeks have been exciting for me. I am at a stage in my career where I try to see the best out of every race I do.
“Cycling is a sport where you must give 100 per cent of your body and mind in order to achieve your goals.
“I feel that I understand my body better at my age and my mind is trying to let me understand it, too.
“Sometimes I still struggle with my head and questions come up, for example: ‘Why am I racing with these super strong young riders and not with my family, my girls, my husband, Shai’. And then I finish a race and I think, oh my God, I just love this sport so much.
“The TT was a big bonus for me. I felt good coming out of the women’s Tour of Britain.
“I knew that I need to rest as much as possible and just arrive safely with all the bikes and my three girls.
“When we reached Israel, I was happy, nervous and eager to start. So I just waited for race day to come.”
With most of the Academy riders away on international duties, it was left to Guy Sagiv (23) to add the men’s jersey to his Road Race title.
His time over the same course and distance as the women was 35:53. Omer Goldstein (21) was second, six seconds behind, with Anton Mikailov (31) third at +38s.
Alon Day will be the first Israeli driver to compete in Nascar top series. Driving for BK Racing, he will compete in the Toyota/Save Mart 350.