In November last year, the entire MTN-Qhubeka team went out to a restaurant in Camps Bay in Cape Town. It was put on by their eyewear sponsor, Oakley, to kick off their pre-season training camp at the Spier wine estate in Stellenbosch. A few drinks were had. Then a few more. Then several more.
It became a good, old-fashioned party. Gerald Ciolek, the winner of the Milan SanRemo, took control of the credit card of one of the European riders and the session picked up pace. There was laughter and Mickey-taking, until eventually the team management forced them on to the buses for the trip back to Spier. Some of the riders felt poorly the next day and their teammates mocked them. Louis Meintjes grinned his way through a photo-shoot for Bicycling magazine, and then sweated his way through a team ride.
As they rode, tales from the night before were retold. There were blushes and more laughter. In one night, the new and the incumbent riders of MTN-Qhubeka bonded. Over a few drinks too many they became a team. Doug Ryder, the team founder, and I talked about it the next morning and came to the conclusion the party could be the making of MTN-Qhubeka.
Stephen Cummings had a few drinks in France this weekend, but not too many. A glass of Champers and maybe some wine with dinner, according to David Higgs, the team chef. There is always cause for Champers after you win a stage of the Tour de France, as Cummings did with a clever, brave ride, a canny move that caught the two Frenchmen in front of him unawares on Saturday. It just about caught everyone by surprise. Cummings seemed to come from nowhere, squeezing past the two leaders on the outside, powering through the left-hand corner and away for a magnificent win.
It could not have come on a more appropriate day, nor happened to a more deserving man. Cummings, from the Wirral in Liverpool, has spent most of his career working for others. He won a silver medal at the Athens Olympics on the track, then a world championship, before the open road called to him.
He rode for the South African-sponsored Barloworld team in 2008 and 2009. At the team’s training camp in Tuscany at the beginning of 2009, I sat down with Cummings, Geraint Thomas (now with Team Sky) and Robbie Hunter for a natter.
Hunter had just finished on the podium in a local race and wanted a beer. It seemed rude to let him have one alone. Thomas has a quick wit, Hunter a sharp one and Cummings a wry one. Hunter told a tale about how he twisted Alessandro Pettachi’s ear after the Italian sprinter had made the mistake of squaring up to him after a sprint. Thomas told a bawdy story about having to give a sample to anti-doping personnel early in the morning after he had had a big night out. Cummings was looking forward to riding in the Giro del Capo in South Africa.
“I want a big steak every night,” said Cummings. “I’ve heard the meat is great and I want to make sure I get some in me before we go home.” For a skinny man, Cummings can sure put away a steak. He also put away the opposition with a win on the third day of the Giro del Capo.
He, Thomas, Chris Froome and John Lee Augustyn all left Barloworld for Sky, and in 2012 Cummings got his first Grand Tour win, taking the 13th stage in the Tour of Spain. This year he joined MTN-Qhubeka powered by Samsung because he would have more opportunities to ride for himself. He took 10th in the time trial on the first day, then, on Mandela Day, he found the power to give South Africa reason to celebrate.
Near the end of the training camp at Spier last year, the team were having drinks with sponsors and supporters. I sat down next to Cummings at the wine bar. We spoke briefly of the Barloworld years and then of our mutual love for Liverpool and how badly out of form they were. I told him I thought this team could do something special in 2015. Cummings just smiled. “I think we will.”