Fantastic performance by MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung in first World Tour race of the year
After Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) set an unbeatable time early on, the final individual time trial stage of the Tirreno-Adriatico would end up being a battle of the seconds between the GC riders. Our Steven Cummings started the day 9th on GC but by finishing 8th on the stage, the Brit managed to secure a credible 6th overall.
The first Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung rider to really make an impact on the leader board today was Edvald Boasson Hagen. Eddy crossed the line in 11’49“ over the 10km course, which would be good enough for 10th position on the stage. By the time the GC riders got going, Cancellara, Adriano Malori (Movistar) and Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) had all but decided the stage podium respectively.
With less than a minute between 2nd & 10th on GC before the stage start, a number of teams were waiting at the finish line with calculator in hand. The biggest move was to be made by Steve as his 8th position on the stage saw him leapfrog from 9th to 6th. Stevo was just 1 second behind Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) and 40″ from the overall victory, a fantastic result for our African team in our first World Tour race of the year.
Nairo Quintana (Movistar) held on to his overall lead to win the tour outright ahead of Bauke Mollema (Trek Factory Racing) and Rigoberto Uran (Etixx-Quickstep).
Jens Zemke – Head of Performance
Fantastic again today! I mean 8th on the stage today, 6th on the GC only 1 second behind Contador. If you told me before Tirreno that we would finish 1 second behind Contador on GC then I would say that is a bit optimistic. So I am super happy with the results over the complete week. It was an enjoyable race for the team, they connected well, we did good leadouts and we have good results. In the history of our team I think this was one of our best weeks with the win in Langkawi and 6th place in the World Tour Tirreno stage race so we can be proud of our boys.
About MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung
Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung was founded in 2007, steadily working its way up from a regional team to now being a Continental Pro team with bases in South Africa and Italy. MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung’s goal is to give talented African riders a path into the pro peloton while raising funds for the Qhubeka charity.
Qhubeka is an Nguni (Zulu, Xhosa) word that means “to carry on”, “to progress”, “to move forward”. Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) helps people move forward and progress by giving bicycles in return for work done to improve communities, the environment or academic results. Having a bicycle changes people’s lives by increasing the distance they can travel, what they can carry, where they can go and how fast they can get there. To contribute to the #BicyclesChangeLives Campaign, click here.
MTN (mtn.co.za) is a long-time supporter of Qhubeka and the team. Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting 219.2 million subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Learn more about the team at www.teammtnqhubeka.com.
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