This week's Cycling News Podcast features an exclusive interview with Daniel Martin of Israel Startup Nation.

Ineos won the Giro d'Italia with Tao Geoghegan Hart, had a disaster at the Tour de France, and finished second at the Vuelta a España. In the Giro, he bounced back after losing Geraint Thomas to take seven stage wins and the Maria Rosa.

In the Tour, he was well below his typical best and was forced to change his lineup late in the race, with Egan Bernal faltering in the mountains. Despite Michal Kwiatkowski's stage win, they were off the pace in races such as the Criterium du Dauphiné leading up to the Tour, and their classic campaign was quiet even by their standards. In the Israeli Startup Nation, Daniel Martin and Alex Dowsett won two stages in the Grand Tour. In the Vuelta, they finished fourth overall, and while their WorldTour wins were not huge, with only two victories, the team showed signs of promise and progress.

Procycling's Edward Pickering, a former teacher, analyzes both teams' seasons before assigning grades to each team.

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