Mr. Adams, instrumental in bringing the Giro for its start in Israel, was referring to the participation of teams from Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, neither of which have formal diplomatic relations with the Jewish state.

He made the comments to Start-Up Nation Central – an Israeli non-profit organisation that acts as a gateway to Israeli innovation. Start-Up Nation Central is a sponsor partner of the Giro Big Start in Israel, bringing six innovative Israeli sports tech startups to an exhibit at the media centre and providing exclusive Israeli technology-related content to global media covering the race.

The Giro is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, watched by over a billion people. “This is the way we build bridges. We have two Arab-country based teams participating in the Giro, and we have an Israeli team. I think this is a demonstration of how sport can erase differences and erase politics,” Mr. Adams said.

Mr. Adams’ comments were made in a video interview with Start-Up Nation Central, which can be linked to here and referenced.

His comments were echoed by Ron Baron, founder of the Israel Cycling Academy. “The Israel Cycling Academy are ambassadors for peace. We are very good friends with the Bahrain team, and they were excited to come to Israel and to see Jerusalem and the holy places.”