http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/teklehaimanot-wants-more-success-in-2015
Teklehaimanot wants more success in 2015
By: Sadhbh O'Shea Published: February 02, 2015, 14:55 GMT, Updated:
February 02, 2015, 14:56 GMT
Eritrean confident after first season with MTN-Qhubeka
For Daniel Teklehaimanot, the path through professional cycling has
been tricky and, at times, hugely frustrating. A former African road
and time trial champion, there was a lot of excitement around his
signing with Orica-GreenEdge in 2012. However, the relationship was
doomed to fail with visa problems blighting much of Teklehaimanot’s
time at the team.
After a season with the MTN-Qhubeka team, Teklehaimanot is feeling
positive about the year ahead and takes confidence from a good finish
at Vuelta a España last season.
“For myself, I have good confidence about my condition. I think I will
do some more WorldTour races but the big race is the Tour de France.
It is my dream for a long time and for the Africans, and now there are
more Africans coming. I am really excited for that,” he told
Cyclingnews. “I think that we can do as well as we did in the Vuelta a
España or better than.”
Teklehaimanot rode the Vuelta a España for the second time last season
as one of only three riders in the team to have ridden a Grand Tour in
the past. The 26-year-old made history for Eritrea in 2012 when he
became the first from the African nation to ride the Vuelta a España.
This year could be equally as ground breaking for the country with
three Eritreans in with a shot of riding this year’s Tour de France,
including Natnael Berhane and Merhawi Kudus. For Teklehaimanot, it
isn’t about making history again he just wants to ride the Tour and
bring as many of his compatriots as possible.
“Now we are three (Eritrean) riders in the team. If I want to be part
of the team then I need to be in a good condition. I don’t mind if I
am the first Eritrean or second Eritrean, it is no problem for me. I
just want to be there and in a good condition,” he explained. “It is
really important for everybody and it will be a great feeling to be
part of a race like the Tour de France. Everybody will be excited.
Hopefully my dream will come true.”
The move to MTN-Qhubeka has made life much easier for Teklehaimanot,
something that his compatriot Berhane can look forward to this season.
It allowed him to ride a much fuller programme that included some of
the biggest races on the calendar, such as Milan-San Remo,
Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour de Suisse and his return to the Vuelta.
It was a stark contrast to his previous season where he was unable to
begin his racing until the Critérium du Dauphiné in June and rode only
five further events following it.
“When I finished last year, I had a lot of visa problems with the team
so I couldn’t continue with the team,” he explained. “(In 2013) the
Italian ambassador gave me a visa, in the second part of the season
but he only gave it to me for three months.”
MTN-Qhubeka was the perfect option. “I really wanted to be on an
African team. I was really happy to be a part of that,” said
Teklehaimanot. “They understand everything and I am really grateful of
that because, firstly I was back on my bike. I was part of the team
and it’s a home team. I am really grateful to them.
“The team has changed with the riders that have come in but we will be
more successful this year.”
Received on Tue Feb 03 2015 - 08:15:07 EST