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Team Qhubeka: Exceeding expectations, making a lasting impact

Team Qhubeka: Exceeding expectations, making a lasting impact

At the start of the Tour de France, cynical observers would never have envisioned that Team Qhubeka would do as well as they have. But the wildcard team continues to upset the apple cart. By ANTOINETTE MULLER.

At the start of this year’s Tour de France, many would have thought Team Qhubeka would be lucky if they simply finished the tour. Fast forward two weeks and Eritrea’s Daniel Teklehaimanot has worn the King of the Mountains Jersey, Steve Cummings has won a stage and the team won a stage team classification twice.

If anyone had any doubt that Qhubeka belong at the Tour after gaining a ‘wildcard’ entry, those doubts have almost surely been erased and then some. The South African team has shaken the upper echelons of cycling and will continue to do so and the best part is that it’s doing so with African riders. Back in 2013, when the team first entered cycling’s top ranks, the team had South Africans, Eritreans, a Rwandan and an Algerian in its ranks.

At the 2015 Tour de France, the team is riding with five African riders out of the nine competing. They are drawing from the experience of seasoned pros such as Cummings, Tyler Farrar and Edvald Boasson Hagen. Qhubeka’s riders have worked well as a team and have already smashed the goals they set for themselves.

When they gained their wildcard entry to the Tour de France, they had a few goals: win a stage and hold a leader’s jersey. Both have been achieved and there is still some way to go in this year’s Tour. They have exceeded the expectations of even the most cynical observers.

While the team’s performance is one thing, it comes with the added benefit of raising awareness for the Qhubeka charity that backs them.

Qhubeka separates us a bit,” Cummings said in an interview with VeloNews.

We are always trying to raise awareness for Qhubeka. Also, the way we race, going for stages and not the overall classification. People warm to that. It’s great for cycling in general to get an African team. There’s a lot of talent in Africa who don’t get a chance. This team helps bring in that talent, and hopefully we’ll see more chances for those riders.”

After such great results over the weekend, things slowed down slightly on Monday with Daniel Teklehaimanot coming in at seventh for the 16th stage. Still, with three riders in the top 20, the team won the team stage classification again and moved to second in the overall team standings. It was a rough day for many riders, including Geraint Thomas who crashed into a lamp post. When asked by a doctor what his name was, Thomas jokingly replied, “Chris Froome”. For Teklehaimanot the day was still a job well done.

“It was a really good day for our team with three riders in the break. We were working really hard all day and unfortunately we lost Serge (Pauwels) at the bottom of the climb. Obviously it was also quite difficult for Eddy (Boasson Hagen) on the climb so it was up to me to follow the wheels on the final climb. For me I think seventh at the Tour de France is a good result,” Teklehaimanot said.

Good? It’s been better than that for Teklehaimanot and his team. And it’s been a long, hard fight to get there. Teklehaimanot has been making his mark for a few years, but has often had to struggle with recurring visa problems.

There are so many African riders – from Eritrea, South Africa and Rwanda – but it’s not easy to become a part of the big teams. We have to work hard, so I’m thankful for MTN-Qhubeka,” he explained at the start of the tour.

But if you are sentimentally inclined, the impact has been bigger than a team of cyclist simply doing well.

For the Qhubeka Charity, who backs the team and aims to take bicycles to under-privileged communities, this kind of exposure is gold. Not only will it make people aware of the work they do, but it also shows that they are not simply another “drop and go” charity. Far too often charitable causes have no deliverable outcomes attached to them. Qhubeka is trying to do things differently and if they manage to do things at the charity in the way they have done at the Tour de France, bicycles really will change lives. DM

Photo: MTN Qhubeka team rider Stephen Cummings of Britain celebrates as he crosses the finish line to win the 14th stage of the 102nd edition of the Tour de France 2015 cycling race over 178.5km between Rodez and Mende, France, 18 July 2015. EPA/YOAN VALAT

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