Shani Bloch

Shani Bloch was born in 1979 in Israel

Shani Bloch was born on 6 March 1979 and grew up in Kiryat Bialik. As a young athlete she focused mainly on running. She was the Israeli high school cross-country champion from 1994 to 1996.

In the IDF she served as a combat fitness instructor for Sayeret Matkal. After her service she began training with Yair Ben-Ami in 1998 and later earned a B.A. in physical education at the Wingate Institute.

She won the Israeli triathlon championship in 1999 and then turned to road cycling in Italy. In 2002 she finished 18th in the women's Tour de France, the first Israeli woman to ride in it. In 2003 she placed 39th at the World Championships road race in Canada.

Bloch retired in 2004 to start a family and returned to cycling in 2014. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro she finished the road race in 48th place. She was the first Israeli cyclist at the Olympics since 1960.

She is married to Shai Davidov, and they have three daughters. The family has lived in Scotland because of her husband's work.