How billionaire Sylvan Adams helped rescue Afghan’s women cyclists

It sounds like it could be a movie—and maybe, one day, it could become one.

In late August, just before the United States pulled out of Afghanistan, an effort began to save some of the athletes on the Afghan women’s national cycling team from the impending Taliban takeover.

This mission was partly spearheaded by Sylvan Adams, a Canadian-Israeli billionaire with a passion for cycling. After moving to Israel in 2015, Adams helped found the country's first professional cycling team, called "Israel Start-Up Nation", which has competed globally. Adams personally paid for the rescue of the Afghan cyclists, who will make their way to Canada as refugees.

Adams joins to share the details and origins of this nerve-wracking rescue.

What we talked about:

• Read "The secret rescue of the Afghanistan women’s cycling team: helped by Canada’s Jewish community" at thecjn.ca
• Learn about Israel Start-Up Nation at israelcyclingacademy.com

Credits

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We're a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.