MTN-Qhubeka will ride on the cobbles of the most famous finish straight of any race today having made their mark on the Tour de France and let the rest of the planet know that African cycling is a growing force.
It has been a hard three weeks for MTN-Qhubeka, but a successful one. At last count, they’ve worn the polka-dot jersey, been second in the team competition at one time, taken 13 top-10 finishes and, best of all, won a stage.
Today, their Belgian rider, Serge Pauwels, will ride into Paris sitting in 13th place overall in the Tour, a result that has almost gone unnoticed in the past three weeks.
Pauwels was 33rd on the Alpe d’Huez stage, paced up by his teammate Steve Cummings. With them was Geraint Thomas of Team Sky, who rode his first Tour de France in 2007 with the South African-sponsored Barloworld outfit.
Cummings and Thomas were teammates on Barloworld. Today will be a proud moment for Doug Ryder, founder and team principal of MTN-Qhubeka, the culmination of a 10-year dream, but not the end of it.
“I can’t begin to describe what this team has done over the last three weeks,” Ryder said. “From Daniel (Teklehaimanot) becoming the first African to wear a major jersey at a Grand Tour, and then holding onto it by riding in the break just about every day. Serge has been unbelievable, so consistent, so strong. Louis Meintjes getting up to finish fifth after he crashed was inspirational and even coming over the line last, but making sure he finished when he was so sick, that blew us away.
“Eddie (Boasson Hagen) kept on getting up there and taking fifth places, which was important for us in the team competition. And then Steve winning on Mandela Day. All the stars came together for us on that day and Steve showed why this team is a little different to others.
“He had a plan, he targeted the stage and then got it spot-on. He couldn’t have done a better job. I know there is a video of me going mad in the team bus watching him ride, but it was unbelievable.”
As Cummings crossed the line for his stage win, he held up five fingers in celebration to indicate the 5 000 bikes the team aimed to raise before the end of the Tour. They had reached about 3 500 by on Saturday, and are hoping for a final push to take them over the line.
MTN-Qhubeka will roll on to the Champs-Élysées with eight riders in their team, having lost Meintjes to illness this week.
Tyler Farrar, their sprinter, was third-last over the line on Saturday, which means the team will have a potent lead-out for either himself or Boasson Hagen. Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg has gotten stronger as the Tour has gone on, while Cummings is a strong time trialler, having finished 10th on the opening day of the Tour.
It seems a lifetime since that first stage, but in three weeks, MTN-Qhubeka have become the darling of the cycling world. They will ride into Paris with their heads held high, Africa in their hearts. They may have changed African cycling forever.
Weekend Argus