Itamar Einhorn has done it again: just two weeks after securing a double victory in the Tour of Rwanda, today, the Israeli champion also triumphed in the opening stage of the Tour of Taiwan.
Some 10,246 kilometers (and 17 hours of flight time) separate Rwanda from Taiwan, but it seems that, at least for now, it’s hard to stop the blazing 26-year-old sprinter from Modi’in.
In the best season start for him and his team ever (this was IPT’s 10th victory this season and Einhorn’s third), Ehe chieved a small historic milestone in the capital of Taiwan: the first victory by an Israeli in one of the oldest races in Asia, an international professional race since 1978.
As expected of him recently, this victory too was achieved when all the pressure and expectations were on his shoulders. Einhorn was marked, and rightly so, as the most formidable sprinter among the 22 teams that arrived here, especially as it was a flat opening segment that included eight laps of about 10 kilometers in the center of the capital.
“When everyone knows you’re a dangerous rider, it doesn’t make it any easier,” said Einhorn, who, along with his teammates, managed to execute the plan almost perfectly, a rather rare occurrence in this sport.
Einhorn’s teammates made sure to position him at the front of the race with two kilometers to go, and his British teammate, Joe Blackmore, led him towards the last turn, about 300 meters to the finish. The rest was done by the Israeli, and it seemed that none of his rivals stood a chance at that stage.
He added: “There were a lot of attacks and a lot of chaos, but in the final straight, I positioned myself excellently, gave it my all, and fortunately, it was enough to win. It’s wonderful to start the race like this, and I’m glad I’m continuing the momentum from Rwanda.”
Einhorn will start tomorrow with the yellow jersey, but since it’s a climbing stage, he will struggle to defend it. The team will try to win the entire race with Blackmore (winner of the Tour of Rwanda) while the Israeli road race champion will aim to win in the final stage on Thursday.
Sports Director Ruben Plaza says: “We planned it well but it’s one thing to plan and another to execute. We had Mason Hollyman covering it for us in the breakaway; after that, it was the team assisting Itamar. He turned the corner in perfect position and had a clean and effective sprint. Now we need to worry about the GC. It will be very tight, and every bonus point will count.”
