Great new season roster for MTN-Qhubeka
This season all but over, the Tour of Beijing is the last UCI World Tour event of the year, after that the Japan Cup and a few other low key events will see the saxon finally out. All in all it’s that time if year where the professionals are a hanging up their wheels for a bit if off season recovery.
For the fans the winter can drag by with no race news or events to gorge on. But for a pro cyclist who may finish the season in October then start again in mid Jan at the Tour Down Under or one of the other early season races it’s just a small window of time to see family and live outside the cycling bubble.
For us fans of the sport it’s a case if finding our kicks elsewhere in the cycling world, whether that be getting involved in cyclocross racing or spending the same amount of time cleaning your rain/snow covered bike that you’d spent watching a race on TV is just two ways that as a avid cyclist may pass the winter months. The other perfect way of getting your off season kicks is to delve in to the team transfer news, seeing who’s moving where and speculating how rides and teams will fair in the new season.
One particular team that’s been getting their fair share of media coverage due to some exceptional signings for the 2015 season is the Castelli clothed MTN- Qhubeka. 2014 was the first year that Castelli supplied the team with their clothing needs and long may that partnership continue (I known in biased but it’s one of the cooler looking kits in the peloton).
The South African team for 2015 looks to be having a huge shake up within many aspects of the teams set up and roster, Trek bikes have been the teams weapon of choice for the past two season, the upcoming season sees Cervelo move on from long time partnership with Garmin-Sharp and will now be the official bike sponsor. A whole raft of new riders who have been brought on board sees the team strengthen their already solid squad.
Like many people out there I’m a keen fan of the underdog in many situations, and cycling is no different. MTN-Qhubeka could quite easily have fallen in to this category of underdog on many occasions during this season when they have come up against some of the biggest funded teams in the world, and when they have MTN have had a solid and in many regards a spectacular season.
Another aspect that MTN-Qhubeka seems to manage very well is the fact that they don’t come across as a team without heart, several teams in the pro peloton today feel like rolling billboards for their sponsors, character and emotion and that all important passion is lost in the tech heavy world of cycling. MTN seem to me as some how be a team with a purpose, wins and results are great but the ethos and the message that the team is trying to get across is one that I’m sure has been a defining factor as to why several of the new signings have decided to join the team.
The teams signings have been headline news on may of the cycling new websites. The first big name announced was Edvald Boason Hagen.
Edvald has spent five years at Team Sky, before that he was with HTC-Columbia. With MTN I’m for one sure and hopeful that we will see him allowed to ride like he used to in his earlier days, especially at HTC. He has a had relatively quite 2014 season, but previous seasons have seen some major wins from the Norwegan. He is an exceptionally classy rider, and if the stories are true he is one of the most liked people in the peloton by his fellow professionals.
For spades of experience MTN have signed Serge Pauwels who for the last five seasons has been riding for the Omega Pharam-Quickstep team, he started his career back in 2006, in that time he has progressed through several teams and has tackled seven Grand Tours, he also won a stage in the Giro d’Italia in 2009.
British rider Steve Cummings who had a superb early season with BMC took the overall win at the Tour Mediterraneen, 2nd overall in the Dubai Tour (where Castelli sponsor the leaders jerseys), as well as winning the opening stage of the race. Unfortunately a crash in the Tour of Belgium saw him brake his elbow and put him out of action for a good portion of the season. Steve is a dark horse in the peloton and I for one will be looking forward to seeing him in action come the start of the season in the MTN team colours. He is a powerful rider that should compliment and aid many of the other signing.
Eritrian rider Natnael Berhane has also signed on with the team, moving from French squad Europcar where he has been for 2 years. Natnael is a man for the mountains, still only 23 years of age he has already undertaken La Vuelta.
Tasmanian, Mathew Goss has jumped ship from Australian team Orica-Greenedge where he was one of the teams principal sprinters. He’s had a bumpy few season with OGE but with solid results including a win at Milan-San Remo he’s a man that should fit in to MTN’s plans for their early spring classic campaign.
Tylar Farrar is yet another big name signing, Tyler who most recently won stage three of the Tour of Beijing has won stages in all three Grand Tours, he has been with Garmin-Sharp for the past 7 years.
It’ll be interesting to see Goss and Tyler work together in the sprints, they are both extremely capable of taking some big wins, but add Theo Bos who is yet another signing for the 2015 in to the mix and this is a team with a huge amount of fire power.
Theo Bos has been with Rabobank/Belkin for 4 season and has racked up 35 pro wins. If the team work, preparation and bonding all go according to plan throughout the early season the sprint train that MTN-Qhubeka looks to be amassing could be up there with the likes go Giant-Shimano and Omega Pharma-Quickstep in 2015, vying for stage wins in Grand Tours if they are invited.
Invitation to the three Grand Tours is needed if the team stay as a Pro Continental squad, but with the Garmin-Sharp and Cannondale teams merging to form one squad in 2015 there is a UCI World Tour license up for grabs. Will we see MTN-Qhubeka snap this golden ticket up so that they have immediate invitations to all the major races on the calendar including all three Grand Tours.
Rumors are already circulating that they are indeed trying to acquire this sought after licence. If they do it would guarantee that we would see the first African team at Le Tour de France.
It’s going to be an exciting winter seeing the teams development, bringing all the new guys together at training camps and team bonding exercises. The off season can be pretty quite with cycling news, but if like me you follow MTN-Qhubeka you’ll know that they’re pretty handy at keeping fans updated with team news on their multiple social media outlets. Even as the season comes to a close I’m already excited about what 2015 will bring.