Cataford and Piccoli named to Israel Start-up Nation’s Vuelta lineup
Both Canadians will be racing their second career Grand Tours
Photo by: SirottiFor the second season in a row, there will be two Canadians at the Vuelta a EspaƱa, as Israel Start-up Nation named Alex Cataford and James Piccoli to its lineup two days before the start of the year’s final Grand Tour in Burgos. It will be Piccoli’s second consecutive Vuelta and Cataford’s first.
Here it is:
ISNās line-up for the Vuelta a EspaƱa!-Einhorn makes Grand Tour debut
-Niv races second Grand Tour this season
-ISN hunts for stage winsRead more about the squad: https://t.co/lMpO8Lh5Hr #YallaISN #LaVuelta21 pic.twitter.com/o1ccqeKa3B
— Israel Start-Up Nation / Israel Cycling Academy (@TeamIsraelSUN) August 12, 2021
Last season Piccoli and Michael Woods, then with EF Pro Cycling, were the Canadians in the Vuelta. Woods memorably took his second career Vuelta stage victory on his way to 34th.
Piccoli has had a couple of fine stage race results this season: runner-up in the Tour du Rwanda and eighth in the Ruta del Sol. He has one more year on his ISUN contract.
In 2020 Cataford rode the Giro d’Italia. He hurt his hip in a crash on Stage 8 and abandoned in the brutal weather of Stage 12. After DNF’s in his first two stage races of the season, Cataford finished his next four, including the recent Vuelta a Burgos, where Mikel Landa’s victory made him one of the favourites at the Vuelta. Like Piccoli and another fellow Canadian Guillaume Boivin, Cataford has another season left on his contract with ISUN.