Preview: Giro d'Italia
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka all set for first Giro d'Italia
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka are all set to start this year's Giro d'Italia, which gets underway on 6 May in Apeldoorn, Holland. It will be the first time our African Team start the Italian Grand Tour, making it a significant moment for our team and for African cycling in general.
The Giro d'Italia is yet another amazing opportunity for our African Team to share our #BicyclesChangeLives message to the world and so we are delighted to announce our 9 rider roster that will represent Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka over the coming 3 weeks. We are also really proud that 5 of our African riders will start, including the South African national champion, Jaco Venter. He will get to show off the national jersey at the Giro d'Italia for the first time since 2012.
Riders will be tested to their limits over the 21 stages that make up the 99th edition of the Giro d'Italia and for further details on each of the stages, click here.
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka Giro d'Italia 2016 Squad
Merhawi Kudus (22 years - Eritrea) [Profile]
Kanstantsin Siutsou (33 years - Belarus) [Profile]
Igor Anton (33 years - Spain) [Profile]
Omar Fraile (25 years - Spain) [Profile]
Kristian Sbaragli (25 years -Italy) [Profile]
Jaco Venter (29 years - South Africa) [Profile]
Johann van Zyl (25 years - South Africa) [Profile]
Jay Thomson (30 years - South Africa) [Profile]
Songezo Jim (25 years - South Africa) [Profile]
Douglas Ryder - Team Principal
We did a big push to get into the Giro d’Italia in 2014 as our first Grand Tour as Africa’s cycling team and it was not to be, so to be standing on the start line in 2016 is massive for Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka. Starting in Holland to is incredible as we had a great Tour de France last year, when we started in Utrecht. We have selected an amazing team with 7 riders new to the Giro and 2 riders, Igor Anton and Kanstantsin Siutsou, who have 10 Giro’s between them with the latter one riding into the top 10 before and winning a stage. Both riders will play leading roles in this team in support both on and off the bike. To have 5 riders from Africa in this team racing their first Giro is a dream come true for us, as well as for our young Italian Kristian Sbaragli and Basque Omar Fraile. We hope to make an impact that matters.
Rolf Aldag - Head of Performance
We're extremely happy to celebrate our first appearance at the Giro d'Italia. Our riders are ready, we have an incredibly motivated group of people who are ready to leave their mark in one of the biggest races of the year. Starting a grand tour in Holland is always very special, because it is one of the moments where the tradition and the respect of the Dutch meet the history of more than 100 years of bike racing.
Jaco Venter - Rider
The team has been based in Italy for a number of years and to be able to race the Giro d'Italia now, well it has always been a big goal for me and the team. It will also be my first grand tour wearing the South African champions jersey which is really special. Racing so close to my European base, it feels like it is a home race for me. We have a strong team for the Giro so we are hoping for some good results and some good weather.
Team Dimension Data For Qhubeka
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka was founded in 2007, steadily working its way up from a regional team to now being a World Tour team with bases in South Africa and Italy. It’s also known as Africa’s Team due to its focus on helping African talents to the world stage of cycling. The team races to raise funds for the Qhubeka Charity to mobilise people on bicycles in Africa. To contribute to the #BicyclesChangeLives Campaign, click here.
Qhubeka is an Nguni word that means “to progress”, “to move forward”. Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) is part of World Bicycle Relief (worldbicyclerelief.org), a global non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing education, health and economic opportunities by providing simple, sustainable transportation through the power of bicycles.
Dimension Data (dimensiondata.com) uses the power of technology to help organisations achieve great things in the digital era. As a member of the NTT Group, we accelerate our clients’ ambitions through digital infrastructure, hybrid cloud, workspaces for tomorrow, and cybersecurity. With a turnover of USD 7.5 billion, offices in 58 countries, and 31,000 employees, we deliver wherever our clients are, at every stage of their technology journey. We’re proud to be the Official Technology Partner of Amaury Sport Organisation, organiser of the Tour de France, and the title partner of the cycling team, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.
Learn more about the team at www.africasteam.com.
All images attached to the press release can be used with the respective image credit in combination to this release.
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