Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka finished off this year’s Tour de France with another podium performance by Edvald Boasson Hagen who sprinted to third place on the final stage of the race.

Per tradition, the day started out with smiles and laughter as the riders left Montgeron and headed towards Paris. However, as the peloton entered the iconic circuit on Champs-Élysées, the faces of the riders were now very focused and ready to race hard.

Multiple riders tried to escape as they started on the eight laps and ultimately, a strong group managed to distance the peloton. Jaco Venter and Steve Cummings helped to set the pace in the pack and with 10 km left to go, it was all back together again.

The remaining Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka riders always kept Boasson Hagen near the front and together with Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, the fast Norwegian entered the final corners in a good position.

Dylan Groenewegen (Team LottoNL-Jumbo) started his sprint early and quickly opened up a small gap. Boasson Hagen tried to close the gap but at the end, he had to settle for third place. In addition to his impressive victory on stage 19, this was the fifth time Boasson Hagen finished in Top3 during this Tour de France.

Chris Froome (Team Sky) won the race overall in front of Rigoberto Uran (Cannondale-Drapac) and Romain Bardet (Ag2r). Serge Pauwels finished as best Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka rider in 19th place in the general classification. Boasson Hagen was third in the points classification.

Edvald Boasson Hagen:
“It was great to make it to Paris with this incredible team. Everybody, riders and staff, gave their all for me right up until the very last meters of this amazing three weeks’ race. It’s a pity I couldn’t finish it off for the team today but I think we can be happy with our Tour de France performance this year. We lost [Mark] Cavendish early in the race but we got together as a team and showed that we ride for a cause. I think that made our stage win much more special”.

Doug Ryder – Team Principal:
“It was tough for the team to lose Mark Cavendish but the guys pulled together and fought hard for every stage we aimed at. We got one big stage victory, six podium places and we made it into Top10 no less than 10 times. Today, the team was right on point again. They helped to bring back the breakaway and afterwards, they worked together for a result. Edvald [Boasson Hagen] did very well to finish in third place. His performances in this year’s Tour de France have been incredible. I’m so happy for him”.

Team Dimension Data For Qhubeka

Founded in 2007, Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka became the first ever African cycling team to gain a WorldTour license, in 2016. In the team’s palmares you can find a Milan-Sanremo victory, numerous stage wins at the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, two Tour of Britain GC victories, and 36 National Championships. The team has bases in South Africa, the Netherlands 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 change lives with bicycles in Africa. #DoYourPart and gift a bicycle or part of a bicycle, by clicking here.

Qhubeka is an Nguni word that means “to progress”, “to move forward”. Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) partners with communities, public sector, private sector, and non-profit organisations to provide people with bicycles in return for working to improve their community, environment or school attendance.

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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