Israel Cycling Academy team have signed Jose Manual Diaz Gallego, arguably the best young amateur climber from Spain, as their designated number 1 climber for its first season as a Pro Continental Team.

Jose Manual Diaz Gallego, age 21, won the most important amateur one-day race in Spain this season - the Valenciaga - and has now signed a 2 year Pro Continental contract, making the leap from amateur racing to riding some of the biggest races on the Pro calendar.

The Israel Cycling Academy management see the signing as a natural decision for a team which believes in developing raw talent, more than leaning on proven veterans.

“Maybe most teams would not have taken this path, but for us, choosing to go with Jose is really who we are,” explained team manager Ran Margaliot. “When we see someone with this kind of potential who needs a chance to grow and develop, we are willing to take the risk that comes along with the great promise”.

The young rider from Jaen in souther Spain expressed his confidence that he will be able to justify the first Israeli pro team's trust in him, going into its most important and challenging season to date.

"Although this will be the first time I will race for a pro team, and a foreign one, I’m not scared at all. I know that I put myself in the best hands. I actually rejected a few offers from other teams and I chose Israel Cycling Academy for a good reason: they will be able to let me grow as a rider, while giving me the opportunity to race some great races."

Although he brings with him very little oro racing experience, Diaz Gallego has already proven that he is a serious climbing talent in a county that produces some of the best climber in the world on a regular basis. In the last two seasonsm he stood on race podiums no less than 14 times, all of them in races involving climbs.

“I am a pure climber” he says proudly. At 1.77m and 62kg everything suggests that he is right but it’s his mentality of just loving the sensations involved in the suffering which truly sets him apart. “

You can call me crazy, but when I am well on the way up, my body creates an amazing feeling of well-being, even if I suffer a lot. Something that only cyclists know what I am talking about…”

Climbing is a part of what he has done form day one, although you have to go back 7 years.

“I live in the middle of a mountain, so just to get home I need to climb 7km,” he says with a chuckle. It is no wonder he started his career as a mountain biker, winning the first race he entered at the age of 14. It took him 3 years before he raced a road bike for the first time, “But I won that race as well…”

Like most Spanish riders in the last few years, he had to pay the price due to the economic crisis that has hit the Spanish pro cycling world.

“There are just not too many opportunities” he says. In the last 3 years he raced for a Spanish amateur team, Bicicletas Rodriguez Extramadura. Besides his great win in the Memorial Valenciaga, he also took 2nd in the Spanish U23 Cup.

“I am so delighted to finally get the opportunity with Israel Cycling Academy. I hope to show that I am a good rider in every terrain, but especially on the climbs, and this will lead to many years as a pro,” he said.

Israel Cycling Academy was founded in December 2014 in Jerusalem, as Israel’s first Professional cycling team, with a clear vision to help Israeli Cycling and bring young cyclists, especially Israelis, to the top levels of cycling.