http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/11/news/dimension-data-granted-worldtour-license-for-2016_389926
Dimension Data granted WorldTour license for 2016
By Andrew Hood
Published 1 day ago
1K 3 4 0
image:
http://cdn.velonews.competitor.com/files/2015/11/MTN-Qhubeka1-660x440.jpg
MTN-Qhubeka, which will be called Dimension Data in 2016, has earned a
berth to ride in cycling's top tier. Photo: Tim De Waele |
TDWsport.com
Dimension Data — formerly MTN-Qhubeka — is going to the WorldTour in 2016.
The African-based team confirmed Wednesday the UCI approved its
WorldTour license for the coming season, giving the African continent
its first team representation at the elite of the peloton.
“This is incredible,” said team principal Douglas Ryder. “I am so
happy for this team, our partners and all the staff and riders that
have worked so hard over the years to keep building this team to push
beyond the boundaries and believe that anything is possible.”
The confirmation means there will be 18 UCI WorldTeams in the peloton
for 2016. During 2015 and 2013, only 17 teams rode in the top
category, which guarantees start positions across the season-long
WorldTour racing calendar.
The UCI confirmed the full lineup of top-tier teams in a press release
Wednesday. Earlier this month, Astana secured its WorldTour license
for 2016 as part of 11 teams that have already been OK’d by the UCI’s
license commission.
For Dimension Data, Wednesday’s news comes as the team is holding
pre-season meetings in South Africa ahead of the 2016 season, and
confirms the team’s impressive progression over the past few seasons.
Formed in 2007, the team featured a handful of South Africa riders,
and raced at the Continental level across Africa. MTN, a South African
telecommunications company, joined as an important sponsor, and the
team began to grow as it added more African riders beyond South
Africa. Team officials added east African riders from such places as
Rwanda, Eritrea, and Namibia.
In 2013, the team secured a Pro Continental license and began an
ambitious program to enter the European peloton. It set up a base in
Italy and signed such riders as Ignatus Konovalovas, Sergio Pardilla,
and Gerald Ciolek, who delivered a stunning victory at Milano-Sanremo
that spring. In 2014, the team made history by becoming the first
African team to ride the Vuelta a España.
This season, the team’s dramatic transformation continued, with major
signings to secure a Tour de France bid. The bet to sign such riders
as Edvald Boasson Hagen, Tyler Farrar, Theo Bos, Serge Pauwels, and
Stephen Cummings paid off big time, with Cummings winning stage 14 to
Mende.
The team upped the ante even more this fall, signing UK sprinting
superstar Mark Cavendish and six other major riders, including Bernard
Eisel, Mark Renshaw, Kanstantsin Siutsou, Nathan Haas, Cameron Maier,
and 2015 Vuelta King of the Mountain winner Omar Fraile.
“The realization of this dream has only been made possible by years of
hard work, strategic partnerships, incredible riders producing
exceptional performances and support staff,” a team release said
Wednesday. “We are delighted to rewrite the history books and place
African cycling at the highest level in world cycling.”
The team also announced it will be registering a feeder team with a
Continental license based out of Lucca, Italy, to give promising
African riders a chance to gain experience on the European scene.
UCI WorldTeams for 2016
Ag2r La Mondiale
Astana
BMC Racing
Cannondale
Dimension Data
Etixx-Quick-Step
FDJ
IAM Cycling
Lampre-Merida
Lotto Soudal
Movistar
Orica-GreenEdge
Giant-Alpecin
Katusha
Lotto NL-Jumbo
Sky
Tinkoff
Trek Factory Racing
Read more at
http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/11/news/dimension-data-granted-worldtour-license-for-2016_389926#Y2Je3blvRmD1o7Ll.99
Received on Thu Nov 26 2015 - 12:52:24 EST
