Beit Hillel (Israel) (AFP)
Before riding their bikes, they check their temperature: the riders of "Start-up nation", the first Israeli team to participate in the Tour de France, resumed outdoor training this week, while the Covid-19 pandemic has stopped runners in Europe.
Blue jersey on the back, a dozen of the team's cyclists, funded in particular by Canadian-Israeli billionaire Sylvan Adams, have been surveying the roads of northern Israel for three days since Tuesday and have set up a training camp in Beit Hillel, a few kilometers south of the Golan Heights, occupied since 1967 by the Hebrew State.
If they do not wear protective masks when pedaling, they must wear one on the camp, where physical distance is required and where all meetings are held outdoors, noted an AFP photographer who followed the training.
"It was only possible to organize training after the health authorities lifted the restrictions, which still exist in most European countries and prevent teams from training properly for a resumption of the season" , said the team on Wednesday believing it to be the first to resume training.
Israel, which officially registered 16,539 cases of people infected with the virus including 262 deaths, completely removed restrictions on movement in early May. Restrictions on assemblies could be completely abolished in mid-June if the pandemic continues to be under control, but the requirement to observe two meters between each person and the obligation to wear a mask could be maintained, authorities said.
France is gradually coming out of confinement. The Tour de France, which traditionally takes place in July, has been postponed to August 29, until September 20.
Pending the re-authorization of training in Europe, the Israeli team resumed sprints and climbed Mount Hermon (2,814 meters) on the occupied Golan on Wednesday.
Training as a team "allows you to reach otherwise unattainable levels," says Guy Niv, a cyclist who finished 71st in the Tour des Alpes in 2018.
"I have never seen so much motivation during training," said Aviad Izrael, coach. "The runners are overjoyed. I imagine it's normal after two months of confinement due to the coronavirus."
© 2020 AFP