Vuelta a Espana #1: Solid team time trial for Africa's Team

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka keep GC contenders in touch

The Vuelta a Espana got underway with a 27.8km team time trial. Team Sky clocked the fastest time of the 22 teams to win the stage but only 6 seconds separated the top 3 teams. Team Movistar placed 2nd and in 3rd place it was Orica-BikeExchange. Peter Kennaugh led his Sky team across the line and therefore pulled on the race leaders jersey at the end of the day.

Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka was the 6th team to leave the start ramp this evening and they were chasing the benchmark times set by Bora-Argon 18. At the two intermediate time checks out on course, our African Team consistently went through with the 3rd best time. At the finish, our boys again stopped the clock with what was the 3rd best time.

There were obviously still 16 teams to follow us home, including all the big favourites for the day. Knowing that the flat, fast course suited the big powerhouse time trial teams our African Team was still pleased with the performance the boys put in today.

In the end, after all teams had finished, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka had secured 15th place on the stage with a time 1'17" slower than that of Team Sky. With still 20 stages to go, our African Team look forward to animating the race over the coming 3 weeks. 

Tyler Farrar - Rider
I think we can be pretty happy with our performance today. We certainly not a specialist team when it comes to the team time trial but our goal was to just stay close to the other teams, not lose too much time for our GC guys and ride smooth. I think we can be really happy with what we did today. 

Alex Sans Vega - Sport Director
We did a solid team time trial with some guys showing some good form on the bike. Our days are still to come in this race, so were looking forward to the next stages. 

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 #BicyclesChangeLivescampaign, 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. 

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