Tour de Yorkshire #1: Sbaragli avoids crash to finish 6th 

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka put in a strong performance in the opening stage of Tour de Yorkshire. The team was always present near the front of the peloton and in the sprint, Kristian Sbaragli did well to take 6th place after miraculously avoiding a late crash.

The day started out in a high pace, as many riders were eager to make it into the morning breakaway. It took a while for the right group to form but finally, a break of eight riders managed to distance the pack. However, the teams of the sprinters worked well together and kept the breakaway on a tight leash. As the riders took on the final 50 km, the gap went down to just two minutes. Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka kept their team leaders near the front at all time and helped set the pace, which blew apart the peloton on the final 20 km.

At the end, several riders managed to come back to the front and as expected, it all ended in a bunch sprint in Scarborough. Sbaragli was in a good position but unfortunately, another rider hit his rear wheel, which caused a big crash on the last few hundred meters. Somehow, Sbaragli managed to stay upright but his chances of winning were gone. Instead, our Italian sprinter had to settle for 6th place as Dylan Groenewegen (LottoNL-Jumbo) took the win and the first leader’s jersey.

Kristian Sbaragli:
“The team was very strong today. Everybody did a good job. On the last climb, we went really hard and I think only 30 riders were left in the peloton at that point. In the sprint, somebody hit my wheel and I was very lucky I didn’t crash. Tomorrow is another chance for us”.

Team Dimension Data For Qhubeka

Founded in 2007, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka became the first ever African cycling team to gain a WorldTour license, in 2016. In the team’s palmares you can find a Milan-Sanremo victory, numerous stage wins at the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, two Tour of Britain GC victories, and 36 National Championships. The team has bases in South Africa, the Netherlands 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 change lives with bicycles in Africa. #DoYourPart and gift a bicycle or part of a bicycle, by clicking here.

Qhubeka is an Nguni word that means “to progress”, “to move forward”. Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) partners with communities, public sector, private sector, and non-profit organisations to provide people with bicycles in return for working to improve their community, environment or school attendance. 

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. 

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