The 2015 Tour de France Will Include Its First African Team
The 2015 Tour de France Will Include Its First African Team
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Race leader Astana team rider Vincenzo Nibali of Italy rides near the Arc de Triomphe at the end of the final 21st stage of the Tour de France cycle race in Paris, July 27, 2014.Jean-Paul Pelissier—Reuters
MTN-Qhubeka will become the first African team to compete in the Tour de France, after securing one of five wildcard entries to the 2015 race.
The team, which is registered in South Africa but includes a roster of both African and European cyclists, will compete when the Tour de France kicks off July 4 in the city of Utrecht, The Guardian reports.
“I believe in the riders we have and the talent,” general manager Brian Smith told Cyclingnews in October. “We can light up stages of the Tour, and we bring this incredible story to the Tour. We’re putting African kids on bikes, and being at the Tour de France would help that immeasurably.”
The other teams to receive wildcard invites are Bora-Argon 18, Bretagne-Seche Environnement, Cofidis and Europcar.
Tour de France 2014: Determination, Dirt and Damage
Omega Pharma-Quick Step team rider Mark Cavendish of Britain gets assistance after crashing during a mass sprint next to the finish line of the first 190.5 km stage of the Tour de France cycling race from Leeds to Harrogate on July 5, 2014.Christian Hartmann—ReutersThe peloton rides up Main Street as stage two of the Tour de France passes through Haworth, Yorkshire on July 6, 2014. Tim Goode—PA Riders make their way up the short climb in the village of Finchingfield in north Essex during stage three of the Tour de France from Cambridge to London on July 7, 2014. Nick Ansell—PAThomas Voeckler of France and Team Europcar descends on the cobblestone streets during stage four of the 2014 Tour de France from Touquet-Paris-Plage to Lille on July 8, 2014 in Cassel, France. Doug Pensinger—Getty ImagesSpain's Alberto Contador crosses the finish line with a delay of more than two minutes on his main rivals during the fifth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 155 kilometers (96.3 miles) with start in Ypres, Belgium, and finish in Arenberg, France on July 9, 2014.Peter Dejong—APSpain's Alberto Contador eats a banana in as he rides in the pack during the sixth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 194 kilometers (120.5 miles) with start in Arras and finish in Reims, France on July 10, 2014. Laurent Ciprian—APAndrew Talansky of the U.S. crashes as the pack with stage winner Italy's Matteo Trentin, foreground left, sprints towards the finish line during the seventh stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 234.5 kilometers (145.7 miles) with start in Epernay and finish in Nancy, France on July 11, 2014. Peter Dejong—APCyclists riding is seen through a windscreen during the 161 km eighth stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 12, 2014 between Tomblaine and Gerardmer La Mauselaine, France.Jeff Pachoud—AFP/Getty ImagesDecorated bicycles hang from a lamppost as riders arrive for the start of the ninth stage of the Tour de France cycling race over 170 kilometers (105.6 miles) with start in Gerardmer and finish in Mulhouse, France on July 13, 2014. Christophe Ena—APSpain's Alberto Contador (2nd front) rides in the pack during the 161.50 km tenth stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 14, 2014 between Mulhouse and La Planche des Belles Filles ski resort, eastern France. AFP PHOTO / LIONEL BONAVENTURE (Photo credit should read LIONEL BONAVENTURE/AFP/Getty Images)Lionel Bonavent—AFP/Getty ImagesGeraint Thomas of Team SKY on a rest day on July 15, 2014 in Besancon, France. Scott Mitchell—GettyImagesHostesses of sponsors, also know as podium girls, pose before the podium ceremony, during the 187.5 km eleventh stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 16, 2014 between Besancon and Oyonnax, France. Jeff Pachoud—AFP/Getty ImagesSpain's David de la Cruz Melgarejo is evacuated on a stretcher after a fall during the 185.5 km twelfth stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 17, 2014 between Bourg-en-Bresse and Saint-Etienne, central eastern France. Lionel Bonavet—AFP/Getty ImagesItaly's Vincenzo Nibali (C) wearing the overall leader's yellow jersey, Austria's Bernhard Eisel (C-L) and Australia's Richie Porte (3rdR) ride in the pack past a sunflowers field during the 197.5 km thirteenth stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 18, 2014 between Saint-Etienne and Chamrousse, France.Lionel Bonavet—AFP/Getty ImagesThe pack of riders is reflected in a rear mirror during the 177-km fourteenth stage of the Tour de France cycling race between Grenoble and Risoul, July 19, 2014. Jean-Paul Pelissier—ReutersThe pack of riders is on the way during the 15th stage of the 101st Tour de France cycling race, over 222 km from Tallard to Nimes, in France, on July, 20 2014.Kim Ludbrook—EPAFrance's Thibaut Pinot trains on a stationary bike at his hotel in Pennautier, southern France, during a rest day as part of the 101th edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 21, 2014. Lionel Bonavet—AFP/Getty ImagesThe pack of riders on the way during the 16th stage of the 101st Tour de France cycling race, over 237,5 km from Carcassonne to Bagneres-de-Luchon, in France on July 22, 2014. Nicolas Bouvy—EPATinkoff-Saxo team rider Nicolas Roche of Ireland climbs to Pla d'Adet in the Pyrenees mountains during the 124.5km seventeenth stage of the Tour de France cycle race between Saint-Gaudens and Saint-Lary Pla d'Adet on July 23, 2014.Jean-Paul Pelissier—ReutersFrench policemen detain a protestor during the 18th stage of the 101st Tour de France 2014 cycling race over 145.5km from Pau to Hautacam, in France, on July 24, 2014. Kim Ludbrook—EPAA group of breakaway riders pedal through a rain storm near the town of Condom in the Pyrenees mountains during the 19th stage of theTour de France cycling race between Maubourguet and Bergerac on July 25, 2014. Jacky Naegelen—Reuters Czech Republic's Leopold Konig cries after crossing the finish line at the end of the twentieth stage, a 54 km individual time trial, as part of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 26, 2014 between Bergerac and Perigueux, France. Guillaume Souvant—AFP/Getty ImagesItaly's Vincenzo Nibali (C) rides with his Kazakhstan's Astana teammates prior to the start of the 137.5 km twenty-first and last stage of the 101st edition of the Tour de France cycling race on July 27, 2014 between Evry and Paris, France.Jeff Pachoud—AFP/Getty Images
