Castelli | InsiderNews – Tagged "Qhubeka"

aero, bibshort, free, jersey, kristian, la vuelta, mtn, News, Product talk, Qhubeka, race, sbaragli, short, stage 10, team, vuelta - September 1, 2015

Breakthrough Victory in the Aero Race kit

Kristian Sbaragli took a breakthrough victory yesterday at the La Vuelta stage 10 wearing the fastest aero jersey and short on the market. The wind-cheating properties of the Aero Race 5.0 jersey are so effective that you’ll save an average of 20 watts at 40km/h and around 35-40 seconds saved over an hour. Furthermore, the aero Velocity fabric is quick-drying and boasts a low weight keeping the jersey to a claimed 103 grams for a size large. Additionally, the fabric has a tightly knit weave that manages laminar airflow over the body. The Free Aero Race Bib-short is further evidence of Castelli’s dedication to making clothing that provides a competitive advantage for top athletes. After 3 years in development, Castelli’s new top-of-the-line race short represents a significant increase in muscle support and comfort to go along with the wind tunnel tests that show a reducing power output by 10 watt savings at 50 km/hr compared to the outgoing model, Free Bib-short. The secret to these gains lies in how the shorts manage airflow across their multiple boundaries and textures — most obviously via the dimpling across the shorts’ outer plane. Our best race short is now both more comfortable and more aerodynamic and represents the ...

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2015, mtn, News, Qhubeka, Racing - July 10, 2015

Teklehaimanot makes history as first African in the KOM jersey

The 6th stage of the Tour de France would be a historical day for African cycling as Daniel Teklehaimanot became the first African rider to pull on the Polka Dot best climbers jersey and only the 3rd African ever, to wear a leader’s jersey at the Tour de France. Daniel set off in pursuit of history when he got into the 3 rider break of the day that got clear after just 5km of racing. There would be 3 category 4 climbs on route today, with 1 point available to the first rider over the top of each climb. Perrig Quemeneur (Europcar) and Kenneth Vanbilsen (Cofidis) were the 2 riders to join Daniel in the break and it would turn out to be Quemeneur that would challenge Daniel for the mountain points throughout the stage. In each of the mountain sprints Daniel would show great awareness and strength to be able to get the better of the Frenchman, ensuring he would be the first African rider ever to pull on the King of the Mountains Polka Dot jersey at the Tour de France. After Daryl Impey’s time in the yellow jersey in 2013 and Robbie Hunter wearing the white jersey in ...

MTN-Qhubeka announces first ever African Tour de France squad

MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung, the first African Continental Pro team ever to participate at the Tour de France, presented its Tour de France race squad today. The African professional road racing team said that it is delighted to announce the final nine man strong squad that will make history as the first African team to participate in Le Tour de France. Starting on 4 July nine riders will represent the African continent with millions of people around the world tuned in to watch the Tour de France, the world’s biggest bike race. Among the riders are two cyclists from Eritrea the announcement said, “We are delighted to select two Eritrean riders, the first men ever from the country, to take part in the Tour de France. In all likelihood, Merhawi Kudus will also be the youngest rider in the race, while Daniel Teklehaimanot will start the Grande Boucle fresh off winning our team’s first-ever World Tour leaders jersey at the recent Criterium du Dauphine.” Eritrea’s Natnael Berhane will be among the two reserve riders participating in the competition. Three South African riders from the team will have their Tour de France debut: the African champion, Louis Meintjes, South African champion, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, and ...

Rider Interview: Songezo Jim, MTN-Qhubeka

Just 11 years ago, Songezo Jim did not know how to ride a bike, and in a few months he and his team are hoping to make history at the Tour de France. Growing up in South Africa, Songezo Jim had aspirations of being a soccer player, but tragedy struck. By the age of 12, he lost both his parents and was forced to move to Cape Town to live with his aunt. It was there that fate intervened. “There’s a big race in Cape Town which is called the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour and that day, everything closes, so you can’t go anywhere, so we just had to watch,” he said. “So I went and watched the race.” After asking one of the other patrons about the sport, he joined a local club the very next day. “I didn’t know how to ride a bike at that point so they had to teach me,” he said. “They thought I was crazy. My family, my friends – I lost friends when I started cycling. I had to make a decision, I said ‘sorry guys, I’m stopping soccer, I’m going to do cycling’ and from there they never spoke ...

Video: MTN-Qhubeka hoping to build on African talent

Since 2007, Team MTN-Qhubeka have focused on becoming the first African team at the Le Tour de France, and that dream was realised this year when the team received a wildcard invitation to the Grande Boucle. “For us and across South Africa and Africa, when people talk about cycling, they talk about the Tour de France,” says Douglas Ryder, MTN-Qhubeka’s team principal. “It’s as if there is no other race. They don’t understand that as a team we race 200 race days to prepare and get ready and get strong enough to be able to compete in a Grand Tour like the Tour de France.” The team are hoping that participation and success in the world’s biggest bicycle race will aspire more interest in the sport among Africans, eventually producing more homegrown talent. “Having a team like ours, with a uniquely different story and riders from all over the African continent, we know that it will just raise the profile and it will kick the door open for African cyclists into the future,” Ryder says.