Congratulations Team MTN-Qhubeka! The South African-registered team – the first from the continent to compete in the Tour de France – is celebrating a sensational debut on the world’s premier road stage race.
“We are so proud of them … they went to the Tour de France as the underdog team and now everybody is talking about them,” said Absa Cape Epic Marketing and Communications Manager Sarah Haigh. “They have done our country and our continent proud.”
The team managed 14 top 10 finishes during the race’s 21 stages. Foremost among these was Briton Steve Cumming’s victory on July 18, Mandela Day.
Eritrea’s Daniel Teklehaimanot wore the leading climber’s polka dot jersey for several days and Belgian Serge Pauwels finished 13th overall. The term had riders in just about every breakaway during the Tour.
The South African riders in the team – continental champion Louis Meintjes, national champion Jacques Janse van Rensburg, and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg – all performed with distinction. Sadly, Meintjies had to withdraw in the last week of the event after being hospitalised with gastro-enteritis.
The team’s achievements have been recognised by the world’s media. The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom suggested that the highlight of the Tour might be “the ridiculous overachievement of the MTN-Qhubeka squad”.
Journalist Tim Lewis wrote: “Three-week cycling races are attritional but MTN-Qhubeka are representing a continent and seem to be inspired by that every day.”
South African journalist Kevin McCallum said MTN-Qhubeka “have been the revelation of this Tour, a favourite of the fans and, for now, of many of the other teams”.
“They have made friends, raised money to put children on bicycles and changed perceptions. They have, in a typically South African way, punched above their weight,” he wrote in The Star newspaper.
Haigh added: “Congratulations to everybody involved in MTN-Qhubeka. They have been an inspiration and I am sure their success will boost cycling in Africa.”
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