Today we are not in a position to submit our initial application for our UCI WorldTour licence for next year to the sport’s governing body.
We are actively engaged with potential partners, and our current partners, as we work to secure our future for 2022.
Since inception our team has provided hope and opportunity to over 50 riders from Africa who have ridden for us at either Continental, Pro Continental or World Team levels, and as a result have had the opportunity to showcase their talent and realise their dreams.
The recent news that Rwanda will host the 2025 World Championships is a huge moment for our sport, and one that we are very proud of in the role we have played in support of Africa, its cycling potential and as a destination to ride. Seeing Biniam Ghirmay from Eritrea come 2nd in the U23 World Championships this year was incredible. He was just 14 years old when Daniel Teklehaimanot wore the King of the Mountains jersey in the 2015 Tour de France with our team. Their stories, as well as the journey of Nicholas Dlamini from the townships in Cape Town to the Tour de France, are inspirational.
Across our Continental and World Team outfits we have staff and riders that champion our message – bicycles change lives – and enable us to be a platform to raise awareness and funds for the Qhubeka Charity.
We are completely unique across the sporting landscape as a purpose-led organisation that during the course of our decade-long partnership with Qhubeka has seen our team raise over $6M for the Charity, and in the process changed thousands of lives.
We remain confident that our story is not complete, our journey will carry on, to continue to change lives through bicycles.
I have always said that our dream for this team would be to see a young person from Africa, who starts their journey on a Qhubeka bike, one day race on cycling’s most famous road – the Champs Elysée. That will see the dream fully realised.
If you, or any of your business network, want to partner with our team and keep changing lives, please contact us here (jean@ryder.co.za). Thank you for your support.
Ubuntu- I am because we are.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Team Qhubeka NextHash.
Media contact:
Jean Smyth (Head of Communications)
Email: jean@ryder.co.za
Mobile: +27 63 470 1710 or +31 625 739 033
About Team Qhubeka NextHash:
Team Qhubeka NextHash is a purpose-led, high-performance team, fighting to win on the world's biggest stage, to inspire hope and create opportunity. Founded in 2007, Team Qhubeka NextHash (formerly NTT Pro Cycling) became the first-ever African cycling team to gain a UCI WorldTour license, in 2016.
We achieved our first major win in 2013 when Gerald Ciolek won Milan-San Remo, one of the five Monuments of cycling. We have competed in six Tour de France’s and notched up 7 stage wins, with Mark Cavendish wearing the coveted Yellow Jersey at the 2016 Tour de France.
We are a multicultural, diverse team with bases in South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy. There are 19 nationalities represented across our World Tour and continental feeder team rosters. Our focus on developing African cycling has resulted in more than 55 riders from the African continent be given the opportunity to race on the world stage, since the team's inception.
We race to help people to move forward with bicycles through our relationship with Qhubeka Charity. Through our work with Qhubeka, we have contributed to the distribution of over 30 000 bicycles in communities in South Africa.
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.
All images attached to the press release can be used with the respective image credit in combination to this release.
