NTT Continental Cycling Team - 2020
NTT Pro Cycling is delighted to confirm our u23 continental feeder team in 2020. It will be the 5th successive season that our feeder team will base itself in Lucca, Italy, and will take on the competitive u23 European racing scene as the NTT Continental Cycling Team.
NTT Continental Cycling Team is the continuation of the former Team Dimension Data Continental Team, which is one of the most successful u23 feeder team's in world cycling.
The 2019 season was a stand-out year for the team as they picked up 14 victories, racing in 7 different countries over a total of 84 race days. Samuele Battistella winning the u23 world championship road race title was undoubtably the most significant result of the year. Having 5 riders graduate to the pro ranks in 2020 is testament to the success achieved in 2019.
An exciting and talented 2020 roster has been assembled, with a strong focus on developing the best u23 African talent on the continent.
From South Africa, Marc Pritzen will join the team for 2020 having just triumphed at the prestigious 94.7 Ride Joburg National Classic, Marc has been the number 1 rider in the Support SA talent Road Cycling series ranking in 2019. Connor Brown will start his 2nd season in our colours.
From Eritrea, Natnael Tesfazion will continue with us in 2020 and he will be joined by compatriot, Henok Mulueberhan Solomon. Negasi Abreha, who at just 18 years of age, was crowned the elite Ethiopian National Road Champion this year, will be joining our squad for 2020.
With our four u23 Italian riders from 2019 all turning pro in 2020, we will see an all new Italian quartet next season. Samuele Rubino, Leonardo Marchiori, Riccardo Bobbo and Mattia Guasco will don the blue NTT Continental Cycling Team colours next season.
Finally, we are delighted to confirm that for the first time, our team will have two Zwift Academy winners in our line-up. 2018 winner, Martin Lavric, will continue for his 2nd season with us while the 2019 Zwift Academy winner will be crowned at our December training camp, and fill the final spot on the NTT Continental Cycling Team roster.
2020 NTT Continental Cycling Team
Marc Pritzen (20) – South Africa
Connor Brown (21) – South Africa
Natnael Tesfazion (20) – Eritrea
Henok Mulueberhan Solomon (20) – Eritrea
Negasi Abreha (19) – Ethiopia
Samuele Rubino (19) – Italy
Leonardo Marchiori (21) – Italy
Riccardo Bobbo (20) – Italy
Mattia Guasco (19) – Italy
Martin Lavric (20) – Slovenia
TBC - 2019 Zwift Academy Winner
Kevin Campbell – NTT Continental Team Manager
We are very excited about continuing with our development program under our rebranded title partner NTT, in 2020. The 2019 cycling season was a successful year for our team, and we hope to build on these successes with a new roster of talented African and Italian riders. With 8 new riders in our line-up next year, they will have a lot to learn but we believe in their talent, and we look forward to helping them grow as athletes and as people.
Douglas Ryder – NTT Pro Cycling Team Principal
This team is going from strength to strength, year on year and culminated in a world champion this year, in Samuele Battistella who now joins the NTT Pro Cycling Team in the World Tour. Each year we look to this team for riders to join our UCI World Team and each year 1 to 2 riders step up as neo-pros.
2020 is an incredible year for development teams of UCI World Teams. Riders registered with a development team may participate in UCI ProSeries or Class 1 events with the related UCI World Team at any time in the season. This will create opportunities for young riders that were not there before and make the NTT Pro Cycling team stronger. We are better together.
About NTT Pro Cycling
Founded in 2007, NTT Pro Cycling (formerly Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka) became the first-ever African cycling team to gain a WorldTour license, in 2016. With the support of our headline sponsor and technology innovation partner, NTT, we are the most purpose-driven, performance-led, and technology-enabled team in pro cycling today.
Our ambition is to continue to race at the highest levels in world cycling, to develop riders to realise their full potential and to inspire and motivate people across the African continent to ride bicycles.
We have bases in South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy.
We also ride to raise awareness for Qhubeka, a global charity operating in South Africa, through our #BicyclesChangeLives campaign.
The hands on the back of the team race jersey are a reminder that every Qhubeka bicycle is a helping hand up to a beneficiary, which are provided through Qhubeka's learn-to-earn and work-to-earn programmes
About Qhubeka
Qhubeka is a charity that moves people forward with bicycles. People earn bicycles through our programmes, improving their access to schools, clinics and jobs.
A bicycle is a tool that helps people to travel faster and further, and to carry more. In the face of extreme and persistent poverty, bicycles can change lives by helping to address socioeconomic challenges at the most basic level – helping people to get where they need to go.
About NTT Ltd.
NTT Ltd. is a global technology services company bringing together the expertise of leaders in the field, including NTT Communications, Dimension Data and NTT Security. We partner with organizations around the world to shape and achieve outcomes through intelligent technology solutions. For us, intelligent means data driven, connected, digital and secure. As a global ICT provider, we employ more than 40,000 people in a diverse and dynamic workplace and deliver services in over 200 countries and regions. Together we enable the connected future.
Visit us at our new website hello.global.ntt
Image: Samuele Battistella in his u23 World Champion's Jersey, he joins NTT Pro Cycling in 2020.
