Strong start, forest singletracks, and international atmosphere Playtika Epic 2017 Day 1 Summary

Maximilin Hoz and Lysander Kiesel of Germany are the winners of the first stage of Playtika Epic Israel 2017. Some 600 riders arrived at the start line at the Galilion Hotel in Ha' for the second Northern edition o Playtika Epic Israel. This is the fifth Epic Israel race and the second consecutive to take place in the Upper and Golan Herights regions in the north of Israel. After three days of intense heat, pleasant weather awaited the riders at the start line, taking them to a fast section of 5 km in the flatland of the Hula Valley. The first hill, including a steep and demanding wall, led to initial separation in the large peloton of riders that left the race village at the Galilion Hotel, outing the pack of UCI riders in the lead. Following a swift descent the race continued climbing gradually for about 20 km to Biriya Forest where a long demanding climb up to the first feeding zone on the course. The leading pack including Team Bikeway Racing's Dorn/Gluth of Germany, last year's winner Becking of The Netherlands and his team mate Bats, Cycling Academy's Israeli riders Guy Niv and Guy Sagiv, left the feeding zone in the lead for a segment of 15 km on the Biriya KKL Singletrack KKL. The course then continued to the North descending and then ascending back to the village of Dalton, with Hoz/Kiesel taking the lead. The steep descent down to the second feeding zone in Alma saw the leaders riding alone in the front with a gap of 3 minutes from Dorn/Gluth and Bats/Becking. At that point Aviv Yehezkel and Denins Van Winded from Cycling Academy narrowed the gap and left for the final section of the course six minute behind the leaders. From Alma the course descended to the Dishon River through a technical singletrack that favoured the more technical riders. The two leading teams maintained their position when Yehezkel/Van Winded from Cycling Academy overtook Bats/ecking taking the 3rd position for the first time. The course continued descending down the river through , and backto the race village in the Galilion Hotel along Route 90, including a refreshing water crossing in the Einan Stream, a total of 80.5km with 1620 meters of cumulative climb. Kiesel and Holz crossed the finish line in the first place with a time of 03:15:36. In second place were Gluth/Dorn with a time 03:17:24, and Yehezkel/Van Winded closed third at 03:19:05. In the Womens' category Swiss/German Katrin Leumann and Verna Huber show clear dominance all along the stage, from start to finish. With a substantial time gap behind them were Erladsson/Larsson of Sweden, and third in the category were Moschetti/Shachar from the USA. In the Masters' category the first stage was dominated by Gali Ronen and Lior Zach- Maor who were first to cross the finish line in this category. Following them were their team mates Lior Zhavi and Raz Yakobson, and third in the category were Noam Schiller and Lior Haklay of Team Bikeway Racing. In the mixed-couples category the first stage was won by Deborah Ohayon and Marky Haber, followed by Oijer/Tufvesson of Sweden. Ola Ostrovky and Eldad Ohayon closed in the third place. In the nobel Grand Masters category, Oran Ozrad and Amos Gery crossed the finished line first, followed by Amit Levin and Zohar Galili. Nadav Lugasi and David Oz closed in the third place. Playtika Epic Israel powered by Trek and presented by KKL is a couple multi-stage race taking place in Israel for the fifth time in memory of Giora Tsahor. This is the largest most substantial and most important mountain bike race in Israel and it is a leading event in Israeli Cycling. During its existence Epic Israel has managed to become famous in the global racing scene and aspires to become one of the most important stages in the world. Already today Epic Israel is able to attract many bike tourists from across the globe and turn them into de-facto ambassadors of Israeli Cycling. The race's three-days with their unique scenery and the grueling preparations the participants go through, expose them to a different level of sport professionalism and achievement, and actively promote the leisure and sports culture of hundreds of participants, their friends and families. The race's vision was joined by sponsors such as PlayTika, JNF, Trek, Subaru, Rudy Project Shimano, Jinga, Gu, Romach, Aroma, Shoresh, DT swiss, Neviot, Joe's, The Israel Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Ministry of Tourism, the Hapoel Center, the Mevo'ot Hermon Regional Council and the Upper Galilee Regional Council