ERITREAN Riders will participate in Tour De France: A historic achievement
for Africa.
A wildcard invitation to the Tour De France by South African team
MTN-Qhubeka has five African riders on the team. The event which will take
place between July 4-26 will include Eritrea's Daniel Teklehaimanot and
Merhawi Kudus, 21. Natnael Berhane was left out even though the entire
Eritrean team did well in their last event. The Tour De France is the top
race for cycling since it's start in 1903. Next week on Saturday as most of
you watch the event along with fire works for the celebrations of the
independence day in the USA, you can see that the passion for Cycling in
Eritrea is very high. Congratulations to Both Daniel and Merhawi and
hopefully they will perform and compete with some of the veterans who will
be very tough. In an interview from last weeks's victory this is what
Daniel had to say, "To wear the flag of Eritrea at the Tour de France will
be very special and I will try to do everyone proud. "
Meanwhile for those who may have questions about the Tour De France here is
some information that may help you become a fan from the get go. There are
twenty two teams including the Africans MTN competing in 21 stages. The
Hardest stages will more than likely be Everyone will have their personal
favourite, but the cobbles between Seraing and Cambrai will turn stage four
into a mini Paris-Roubaix. For climbing fans, the 13.8km ascent up the 21
bends of Alpe d'Huez (below) on the penultimate day of the race should be
spectacular.
What are the dates of the Tour in 2015?
The 102nd edition of the Tour de France begins in Utretcht, Holland on July
4. The race features 21 stages, plus two rest days, before ending in Paris
on July 26.
What is the route?
The Tour begins in Holland - the sixth time the grand départ has been
staged in the country - before moving into Belgium and then northern
France. The route winds into Brittany before moving to the south-west of
France and then across the country to Alpe d'Huez, before the traditional
finale on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.
There are nine flat stages, three hilly stages, seven mountain stages
including five summit finishes, one individual time trial and one team time
trial. Total distance of the route is 3,360km.
What do the different shirts mean?
The yellow jersey is worn by the leader of the general individual time
classification.
The green jersey is given to the leader of the points classification (won
on the intermediate sprints and at the stage).
The red polka dot jersey is worn by the best climber. Points are allocated
at the top of any classified slope.
The white jersey is given to the best young rider aged 25 or under in the
general individual time classification.
--
Posted By Eri-International Sports Comments to Eri-International Sports at
6/28/2015 01:52:00 AM
Received on Sun Jun 28 2015 - 04:52:22 EDT