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MTN-Qhubeka amongst the big names at Tirreno-Adriatico

Tomorrow will see the Tirreno-Adriatico stage race get underway with a 17km team time trial. The prestigious Italian stage race will be the first World Tour calendar race for Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung this year. In a race which a number of the world’s best riders target as an early season goal, the competition will be fierce. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung are relishing the opportunity to race alongside the strongest teams in the world and will be sending a team of riders well equipped to challenge for a result. Linus Gerdemann was originally supposed to lead the team at the Tirreno-Adriatico but illness has side-lined the German tour rider. Gerald Ciolek and Sergio Pardilla will now jointly captain the African Pro Continental team over the 7 days of racing. The other riders that will compliment Ciolek and Pardilla are Kristian Sbaragli, Ignatas Konovalovas, Andreas Stauff, Jay Thomson, Jaco Venter and Daniel Teklehaimanot. “Unfortunately the captain for the Tirreno race, Linus Gerdemann will not ride because of sickness, but with Gerald Ciolek and Kristian Sbaragli we have some fast boys for the sprints. Sergio Pardilla will be our man for a good GC result,” said DS Jens Zemke when quizzed on ...

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Frederik Van Lierde kicks off season at Abu Dhabi Triathlon

Right after his impressive triumph at Kona in October 2013, Belgian Frederik van Lierde had to work through a PR marathon and was also delighted to receive several awards. Following a short break and holidays with his family, Van Lierde restarted his build up for the 2014 season in December. By now he already completed a number of training camps which led him to the Canary Islands and Costa Blanca. This Saturday Van Lierde will return to competition at Abu Dhabi International Triathlon (3k swim, 200k bike, 20k run). As defending champion (he also won in 2011), the Ironman World Champion will race against some of the best athletes and aims for an informative and successful start of his season. Van Lierde will also debut his new 2014 Castelli triathlon kit. In cooperation with Castelli distributor (for Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg) Wolvenberg he got a brand-new customized line of Castelli clothes for training and racing. As for racing Van Lierde will trust in the optimal aerodynamics and comfort of Castelli’s Free Tri ITU Suit. Van Lierde put together a well-conceived race schedule including some half distance races and Ironman Germany in Frankfurt (July 6), but in the end everything ...

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castelli, cervelo, desert, dubai, dubai tour, News, uci, versace, wolfi -

Is Dubai the new cycling destination?

February saw the inaugural edition of the Dubai Tour. A four stage UCI race, all kicking off each day from the World Trade Centre. From here you could catch the peloton sign on, the roll out and get your daily dose of traditional food and geek out on the latest bike bits, not a bad start to the day I’m sure you’d agree. Castelli were proud to be the official partners and supply the leaders jerseys, each stage saw the leaders of all four classifications kitted out in the latest Castelli jersey. With Versace design and Castelli’s technical input the jerseys looked good on all of the leaders shoulders. If you kept abreast of the sport during the race you’d know that the whole event was incredibly well received, not just by the pros competing but by the flurry of media attending, team staff and local fans. The race was strongly contested by many of the big names. There was no turning up and using it as training for later races, it was serious business for all the riders involved. Taylor Phinney took the overall lead, Marcel Kittel stormed to 3 stage wins and a sprinters jersey plus Garmin-Sharp’s Lasse ...

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Kudus second overall in Malaysian race

20 year old Merhawi Kudus climbed to second place on the queen stage of this year’s Le Tour de Langkawi earlier today. The achievement by the Eritrean rider also ensured he moves up to second on the overall standing, trailing stage winner and race leader Mirsamd Pourseyedigolakhour (Tabriz Petrochemical Cycling Team) by 8 seconds. After getting caught in the final kilometre the previous day, Jacques Janse van Rensburg put on another aggressive ride to finish sixth on the Genting Highlands stage and is in the same position on the general classification, placing two riders in the top ten for Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung and putting the team in the lead in the overall team competition. “I’m feeling good and I’m really happy,” Kudus, who is in his debut season as a professional, said after the stage. “I did a good result for the team. At the beginning of the climb I thought I’d attack as my legs were good and I thought I’d try to get across to the leaders. When I got there I saw everyone was looking tired. I attacked them with 500m to go but in the end the other guy caught with me 100m to go. ...

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belgian classics, ciolek, flanders, konovalovas, mtn, News, omloop het nieuwsblad, Qhubeka, reimer, sbaragli, stauff, tewelde, thomson -

MTN-Qhubeka Kick Start Classics Campaign

This weekend will see Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung kick start their 2014 classics campaign at the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad. After team leader Gerald Ciolek won the bunch sprint for 11th place last year, the organisers have again extended an invite to Africa’s first Professional Continental team. After taking a stage victory at the Ruta Del Sol, Gerald Ciolek will lead Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung at the Belgian Classic and the German is positive going into Saturday’s race. “Taking a look out of the window confirms that we are in Belgium. Its 4 degrees and raining,” laughed Ciolek. “Today we are going to train on the circuit if possible. We have a good and strong team here and also our preparation in Mallorca and Ruta Del Sol has gone well so we are all very confident for the weekend,” said Ciolek. Ciolek will be supported by Ignatas Konovalovas, Martin Reimer, Andy Stauff, Jani Tewelde, Jay Thomson, Johann Van Zyl and Kristian Sbaragli. Sports Director Jens Zemke said they will be counting on the experience of this team to get a good result at Saturday’s race. “Omloop Het Nieuwsblad is a very special race for us, because the organizer Flanders Classics gave ...

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