The track bike industry is relatively new in Israel and started operating after the establishment of the veldrom in Hadar Yosef, by the philanthropist Sylvan Adams.
After that, the Israeli national team was formed, and in less than two years, its athletes managed to achieve impressive achievements.
The one who stands out above all is Rotem Tana (21), who just recently finished the World Championship in fifth place in the elimination race, and is marked as one of the great hopes of the industry to become the first Israeli athlete, already at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024.
Tana began his sporting journey at the age of 7 when he trained for a triathlon, and a few years later, after experiencing a decline in his abilities, he was tested and discovered at a very young age to be anemic.
It almost cost him his career, but to overcome it he took iron balls and returned to competing.
At the age of 11 and after adjustment problems at school, he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome - one of the syndromes of the autistic spectrum, which is mainly characterized by difficulties in social interaction, repetitive behavior and obsessive immersion in narrow areas of interest.
"I'm a normal child, but autistic at the edges," Tana testifies openly in a special interview with Israel Hayom.
"Sports was the only place that gave me friends, a private space, the place where I feel in control. From there all the serious relationships in my life - with my best friend and friendships - the place where I feel I belong."
How does it manifest itself for you?
"I'm on the spectrum, and my downs are more serious than anyone else, certainly at a young age. I entered a major crisis where I couldn't compete because of the anemia: I completely disconnected, I didn't function and I didn't want to talk to anyone. I just shut down."
Have they always tried to keep you in normal settings?
"I was diagnosed early, and my parents always placed me in regular settings. I remember that I wanted to change schools, to be admitted to a high school with a cyber major. I came to an interview with the principal, and we pulled out the diagnosis so that it would be on the table. The principal of the school was surprised and said: 'He looks like a boy Completely normal, I would not have guessed.'
Rotem Tana.
"If the cards were dealt again - I would take mine again", photo: David Reznik
"I can get to Paris already"
In 2020, during the closures in Corona, Tana did not have a team to train with on the road bike, and at the same time they opened the track in Hadar Yosef, where he trained twice a week.
According to him, at first he was not good at the new branch, but it kept getting better.
A year later, Steve McEwan, one of the greatest coaches in the field of cycling, who led the Netherlands to impressive achievements in the Olympics, took on the training of the Israeli national team and marked the European Youth Championship as his first destination, where two riders were registered.
After a test competition that took place, Tena dominated and got the chance to fly to the European Championships in Italy - where, in his second ever competition in the industry, he finished in fourth place, a touch away from the medal.
"I didn't see myself as a track rider, but an area that I would do in the meantime until I returned to the road. But as soon as it happened - I knew that this is what I would do from now on," said the rider.
What made you think this is the right way?
"It's gradual work, hours upon hours. Keeping my head down and continuing to do what I'm doing. It's trusting the road, trusting Steve, trusting my 'Academic Cycling' team and developing as a rider. I wasn't surprised by the results - it's progress that I knew I was capable of to reach it. The goal next year will already be a medal in one of the main races."
"The goal next year will already be a medal in one of the main races", photo: SWPIX
What are you strongest at?
"The elimination race has always connected to me, the autistic and stereotyped head understood it. There I am like a fish in water. There are dynamics to the peloton and some strategies, and all this creates a certain atmosphere. I simply read the opponents, the behavior, where everyone will be at each stage - and take advantage of It's where to be and when to use my energy to break through."
What would have happened if Sylvan Adams had not set up the Voldrum?
"I guess I would wander around Europe in all kinds of groups, trying to find a place to live, but the waldrum in Israel allows for development. Look at the mechanism of the Olympic Committee in Israel, Israel pays for successes, but does not pay to help in order to succeed.
Scholarships only come after successes - a reward for having succeeded, but not on the way to get there.
The environment that Sylvan has built for the team in track bikes and road riders is one of the best in the world.
I am a 21-year-old rider, with a salary from the team, help from the Olympic Committee, with one of the best coaches in the world, a world-class gym and facility.
Sylvan made Israel a country worth being a cyclist in."
"The Voldemort in Israel makes it possible to develop", photo: Oren Aharoni
How is working with a coach like Steve McEwan?
"He is one of the best in the world at what he does. We returned from a training camp in Amsterdam, with direct and full access to him. Two days after the camp I achieved one of my best results on the road, and a week later I finished fifth in the world championship. He produces monsters."
Last year you entered the Champions League, where the best riders compete. How was the experience?
"Israel had to host one of the competitions, so I got a free ticket. This year, after I got off the track, they informed me that I got into it. Last year I got it - this year I earned it. It opens on November 12, and it's the competition with the best in the world and also a show Big with thousands of spectators in the crowd. Crazy atmosphere."
Michael Yakovlev, who represented Russia in recent years and achieved achievements, came to Israel and will strengthen the national team. What do you say about that?
"Mishka arrived, and that suddenly unnaturally put us at the top of the world sprint. We picked from Russia one of the greatest talents in the industry. He is a year younger than me, and finished third in the world championship. This is a super talent that just happened to come our way.
"We are now going to spend a lot of time in the Champions League. We will take a room together and also train part of the time, and he is going to tear me apart. Our training is fundamentally different because it is the same branch, but not the same profession. But he is a significant reinforcement for the team, and he will show results quite quickly."
Do you feel that you can already enter the Paris Olympics?
"Yes, but it's going to be difficult. I'll have to be at a very high level at the World Cups. France is a powerhouse in the industry, and they understand the sport there. Thousands of people will come to watch, and that gives more motivation to get there."
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