2017 WorldTour teams preview: Dimension Data for Qhubeka
Jan 09 2017 09:40 pm CET
SUBSCRIBE TO RSS FEEDSCyclingPub continues to review the teams that are part of the WorldTour for the 2017 season. Today it's the turn of the African Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka.
The most important African team arrives to its second season as a WorldTeam with the same core of riders that gave it the victory in 32 races and more than 70 podium finishes.
The 2016 season was successful for Dimension Data as the team managed to hold the Yellow and Green jerseys at the Tour de France with Mark Cavendish, the lead of the Mountain Classification of the Vuelta a España with Omar Fraile and the overall victory in the Tour of Britain with Steve Cummings.
The next season seems similar for the team, with the prospect of more stage victories in Grand Tours in a year in which the Olympic Games won't be on the agenda of the riders, as was the case in 2016.
The strongest man of the African team for the classics of the season start is the Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen. The current national champion of both the Time Trial and Road Race Championships will keep working hard to get victories in the one-day races and in stages of longer events.
The rider will also have an eye on the World Road Championships that will take place in his home country. He will want to take a victory in front of his local public, against other inspired Norwegians such as Alexander Kristoff.
Without any Olympic commitments stopping him for competing for stage victories, Mark Cavendish can fully focus on getting stages in Grand Tours and other races, as well as fight for the points classifications. The rider will also want to accomplish something big in the British National Championships, which will take place on the Isle of Man, his place of birth and residence.
After his self-confessed best season to date, British rider Stephen Cummings seems to have found the point to get what he wants out of his career. 2016 brought him an overall victory in the Tour of Britain and stage wins in the Tirreno-Adriatico, the Tour of the Basque Country, the Criterium du Dauphine and the Tour de France.
At his 35 years of age and knowing that his retirement is getting closer, the rider will want to equal and improve from his 2016 performance. He will be supported by the team to get stage victories in WorldTour races and, why not, even fight for the General Classification in some of them.
The team will also continue to concentrate on its participation in African races where regional talents like Daniel Teklehaimanot and Adrien Niyonsuti get the chance to shine. For Dimension Data it is also important to take part in local races to inspire young riders to turn professional and draw kids to the sport.
Riders and staff will also continue to give attention to the Qhubeka Charity, which is one of its central points and gives bicycles to people in Africa to help them get around in places where other means of transport are virtually nonexistent.
In 2017, Dimension Data will be in the fight for many stages and different types of races all over the world raising awareness for its charity with every victory. It remains to be seen whether they can improve from the 32 victories they got during the last season.
The complete roster
Igor Anton (Spain)
Natnael Berhane (Eritrea)
Edvald Boasson Hagen (Norway)
Mark Cavendish (Great Britain)
Stephen Cummings (Great Britain)
Mekseb Debesay (Eritrea)
Nicolas Dougall (South Africa)
Bernhard Eisel (Austria)
Tyler Farrar (USA)
Omar Fraile (Spain)
Ryan Gibbons (South Africa)
Nathan Haas (Australia)
Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (South Africa)
Jacques Janse van Rensburg (South Africa)
Ben King (USA)
Merhawi Kudus (Eritrea)
Lachlan Morton (Australia)
Adrien Niyonsuti (Rwanda)
Ben O’Connor (Australia)
Serge Pauwels (Belgium)
Youcef Reguigui (Algeria)
Mark Renshaw (Australia)
Kristian Sbaragli (Italy)
Daniel Teklehaimanot (Eritrea)
Jay Robert Thomson (South Africa)
Scott Thwaites (Great Britain)
Johann van Zyl (South Africa)
Jaco Venter (South Africa)
By Mary Cárdenas
