Volta a Catalunya #1: Sbaragli sprints to third place in the opening stage

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka got off to a very good start in the Spanish World Tour race as Kristian Sbaragli finished third in the bunch sprint in Calella.

Monday’s stage 1 of Volta a Catalunya was expected to be a day for the sprinters, even though there were several categorized climbs to overcome. Many riders tried to break away early on, among these Natnael Berhane, but the peloton was not interested in letting too big of a group get away. At the end, only four riders managed to distance the pack but they never got a gap of more than just a few minutes.

Towards the end of the stage, a couple of riders joined and later attacked from the breakaway. However, due to the hard work from the teams of the sprinters, it all came back together with 25 km left to go. Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka set the pace in the peloton on the last couple of kilometers, making sure Sbaragli was kept in a good position for the final. Here, our Italian sprinter did very well to take third place as Davide Cimolai (FDJ) beat Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) on the line.

In the general classification, Sbaragli sits in third place before tomorrow’s 41.3 km long team time trial in Banyoles. On a very undulating route, this is a crucial stage for the teams and riders targeting the overall win.

Kristian Sbaragli:
“I felt good today. Unfortunately, we didn’t go hard on the climbs as Lotto-Soudal controlled the peloton and set a slow tempo. Therefore, everybody was there at the end. I did my best but I made a small mistake when they started the sprint. I’m happy with the result, but not super happy. I think I could have done more had the stage been approached in a different way. However, I’m satisfied with my condition and I hope to get another chance during the week”.
 

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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