The 2015 edition of the world-renowned cycling competition, Tour de France, will for the first time in history have an African team participate. Joy Sports takes a closer look at the team that will be aiming to do the continent proud in the mountains of France.

Who are they?

They are the MTN-Qhubeka, a professional cycling team founded in 2007 and based in South Africa. The team participates in UCI Continental Circuit Races and world tour races when invited as wild card entrants. Qhubeka is an Nguni word (Zulu and Xhosa) that means to move forward or to progress.

When did we begin to recognize them?

MTN-Qhubeka became a continental team in 2008 but they registered for their professional continental licence in 2013. And then they registered as a professional continental team in 2012, becoming Africa’s first to do so. The team received their first grand tour wildcard for the 2014 Vuelta a Espana (Tour of Spain).

Did they automatically qualify?

No. They are a wild card team.

What does wild card mean in cycling?

A wild card refers to an invitation to a race which a particular team would not normally be able to enter. The term is usually used for a top division race where the organizers want more teams. It is very common to offer a wild card for teams from the same country to help local sport and to boost national pride.

This is not the first time the Tour is having a wildcard. For example, for the 100th Tour de France in 2013, the organisers (the Amaury Sport Organisation) awarded three wild cards to French teams, all of which were professional continental teams at the time and therefore not automatically invited.

Teams can also apply for a wild card.

Is there any politics behind Qhubeka’s invitation?

It’s possible. The fact is that there are many cycling clubs in Africa, so why were Qhubeka alone given this prestigious slot?

The origins of the group may help answer this question. Qhubeka is a non-profit project born out of the World Bicycle Relief’s program in South Africa.

World Bicycle Relief is, according to its website, “a global non-profit organization dedicated to advancing education, health and economic opportunities by providing simple, sustainable transportation.”

The World Bicycle Relief was founded in 2005 and Qhubeka was founded two years later, with telecoms giant MTN accepting to be its title sponsor. Later, Samsung joined as a major sponsor as well.

These two big brands were key in helping the team steadily work its way up from a regional team to now being a Continental Pro team with bases in South Africa and Italy.

MTN-Qhubeka says its goal is to give talented African riders a path into the professional leagues while raising funds for Qhubeka.

The global power of MTN and Samsung helped the Qhubeka team lobby intensely for a place in the prestigious Tour de France, and is widely seen as a standard in Africa for how companies can push corporate agenda through infused national pride efforts.

It has also been said that the South African Foreign Ministry were also very key in pushing this agenda to get the team “to represent Africa”.

Are they all African riders?

MTN-Qhubeka has riders from Africa, Australia, Europe and the USA. The interim manager is Brian Smith and he is team lead for the 23-man contingent.

How many of the 23 are actually at the Tour?

MTN-Qhubeka has 23 members. But the team that is racing at the Tour de France has nine cyclists, as every team at the tour must have.

How many are Africans?

Five of the nine are Africans. Of these five Africans, there are two Eritreans and three South Africans.

The five African Cyclists at the Tour De France are: Merhawi Qudus, 21 (Eritrea), Louis Meintjes, 23 (South Africa), Reinard Janse van Rensburg, 26 (South Africa), Jacques Janse van Rensburg, 26 (South Africa) and Daniel Teklehaimanot, 26 (Eritrea)

The other four are: Tyler Farrar (USA), Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway), Serge Pauwels (Belgium) and Steve Cummings (England).

What brand do they use?

The team uses Cervélo bikes. Professional cyclists worship this brand because it is one of the few builders who make custom-made race bikes from the ground up. Cervélo - which is a portmanteau of two words that translate as 'bikes with brains' - are designed to minimize weight, maximize lateral stiffness and be exceptionally aerodynamic.  No bike company has demonstrated as much focus on frame aerodynamics as Cervelo.

Are they making the African continent proud?

Yes, they have won many tournaments around the world. And in January 2015, they were named as one of the 22 teams to participate in the TdF.

Daniel Teklehaimanot was the first rider down the start ramp in the 2015 Tour de France, making history in the process. Teklehaimanot and team mate Merhawi Qudus became the first black Africans to race in the Tour.

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