Team Qhubeka (https://TeamQhubeka.com/) will race the 2022 Tour of Sicily led by South Africa’s Nicholas Dlamini as he makes his 2022 European season debut.
The four-stage race, which starts on Tuesday 12 April, opens up with an opportunity for the faster men over 199km from Milazzo to Bagheria, while all eyes will be on the grand finale on Easter Friday, featuring three HC climbs on the road from Ragalna and finishing atop the iconic Mount Etna.
Dlamini makes his European bow having recently completed his maiden Absa Cape Epic in late March. The 26-year-old leads a young exciting team including Alessandro Iacchi (Italy), Luca Coati (Italy), Efrem Gebrehiwet Araya (Eritrea), Travis Stedman (South Africa), Jacopo Meneghotto (Italy) and Negasi Haylu Abreha (Ethiopia).
For the Cape Tonian, who impressed in his first-ever mountain bike race, he now can’t wait to get racing in more familiar territory: “I’m really looking forward to starting my season in Europe, with my new teammates. I’ve really been eager to get to Europe and get back racing over here.
“I’ve looked at the start list and there are some really strong teams in the field. I know that Domenico Pozzovivo is here as well as Louis Meintjes – two former teammates – so it’s going to be a hard four days. I’m just looking to take it day by day; luckily the first stage is a flat one so I can ride myself in, as it were, as it will be a big difference coming from South Africa straight into a race like this.
“After completing the Absa Cape Epic I’ve got good condition but now need to get a bit of speed into the legs which might take a few days. More than anything, I’m just excited to race with the team. Everyone is extremely motivated, particularly the young guys, so we’re looking forward to going and racing our hearts out. We are going to go out and do our thing working together, and in doing that can then hope for a good result this week.”
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Team Qhubeka.
Enquiries:
Jean Smyth
Email: jean@ryder.co.za
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About Team Qhubeka:
Team Qhubeka 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 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.
2022 saw us return to UCI Continental status as we took the next step in our journey that will see us rebuild, with the intention to return to highest level and once again represent Africa at the Tour de France.
We are a multicultural, diverse team with bases in South Africa, the Netherlands and Italy. 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.
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 35 000 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.
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