Race Reports (Page 125)

It was another early start for our riders at the South African Championships. With defending champion Louis Meintjes at the start line the pressure was on MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung. And the team lived up to it. At the end Jacques Janse van Rensburg soloed to an impressive victory in Mbombela. MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung was flying its flag right from the beginning. Jacques was quick enough to make the move and go with the first break of the day. The group of six went clear after just a few kilometers of racing and built up a solid lead of 6 minutes. The break featured other strong riders suchRead More →

Tyler Farrar underlined his strong performance at the Herald Sun Tour with another podium finish. After 147km from Mitchelton Winery to Nagambie he came home in second position, with only Australian Caleb Ewan (Orica-Greenedge) being faster across the line. In the overall Cameron Meyer (Orica-Greenedge) held on to the lead. Today’s stage saw an early break going clear. The wet roads helped the group of six to quickly establish a lead of 3 minutes. Having no rider in the front group Songezo Jim and Nic Dougall showed the stripes at the front of the peloton. They did well and played an important role in the chase.Read More →

The 118km 2nd road stage of the Herald Sun Tour saw a bunch sprint decide the victor with Caleb Ewan (Orica-Greenedge) being first across the line. Steele van Hoff (Australia) and Samuel Witmitz (Budget Forklifts) would claim 2nd and 3rd respectively. Cameron Meyer (Orica-Greenedge) held on to the yellow jersey. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had another good day out as Tyler Farrar featured prominently in the 3 man break of the day. Farrar was joined by Will Clarke (Drapac) and Michael Cumming (JLT Condor) after 40km of racing. The bunch was a bit nervous to give the trio too much of a gap even thoughRead More →

Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will feature in the Tour of Qatar for the first time, this year. The desert race has become a mainstay fixture on the international cycling calendar and is an important event for all riders hoping to have a successful classics campaign. The UCI 2.HC event takes place from the 8-13 February and consists of 5 pan flat road stages and a 10.9km TT on stage 3. While there is almost zero meters gained or lost in altitude, soaring heat and extreme wind characterise this race. With such racing conditions, it is no wonder that classics specialists and sprinters are the ridersRead More →

With a bright and early start, the South African Time Trial Championships took place around the Mbombela Stadium streets this morning. Defending champion Daryl Impey (Orica-Greenedge) was successfully able to defend his title from last year, clocking the fastest time of 53’23” on the day. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Louis Meintjes and Jay Thomson all start in the race against the clock today. All 3 riders put in strong performances to claim the next 3 placing’s on the result sheet. Reinardt secured the silver medal while Louis took home the bronze. The cool early morning conditions made for super fastRead More →

The 1st road stage of the Herald Sun Tour was decided by a large 21 rider breakaway which would arrive at the finish just over 20 minutes ahead of the peloton. Cameron Meyer (Orica-Greenedge) was the rider to triumph on the day as he and Joseph Cooper (Avanti) got away from the break group in the closing kilometers of the stage. Patrick Bevin (Avanti) won the sprint for 3rd. The early racing saw the escapees group form after just 20km’s of racing. With representation from nearly all the teams the gap grew quickly. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had hoped for a sprint today but noRead More →

The Herald Sun Tour got underway today with a quick 2.1km prologue. The short technical course around Melbourne was quite a spectacle with William Clarke (Drapac) clocking the fastest time to take the victory. Caleb Ewan (Orica-Greenedge) and Brenton Jones (Drapac) rounded out the podium. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had Tyler Farrar stop the clock in the shortest amount of time for our African team, just 5 seconds behind Clarke and in 15th position. The short distance meant the time gaps from first to last place are rather insignificant yet the race is now well poised heading into tomorrow’s first 157km road stage. The otherRead More →

This week the South African National Road Championships get underway in Mbombela (previously known as Nelspruit). The Men’s elite time trial will take place on Thursday 5th of February while the road race is on Saturday 7th of February. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will send a strong quartet of riders to defend our national road race title which Louis Meintjes won in Westville last year. As defending road race champion, Louis will be joined by Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Jacques Janse van Rensburg and Jay Thomson. All 4 riders will also compete in the time trial race. Many will remember how Louis and Jay taggedRead More →

The final race of the Mallorca Challenge saw the expected bunch sprint materialize. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung were in the mix as Kristian Sbaragli sprinted his way to 9th position. The first rider across the line though was Matteo Pelucchi (IAM Cycling) he just pipped Andre Greipel (Lotto – Soudal) and Ben Swift (Team Sky) for the victory. The weather was not ideal for a bike race as riders were greeted with some cold, wet and even snowy conditions during the course of the race. With very little climbing on the menu though, the peloton would only really spring to life late in the day.Read More →

Several crashes overshadowed an active ride of team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung at the inaugural Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race. The weather conditions were everything but expected for racing in Australia. Strong winds and rain caused for several crashes. After an early group of three was able to establish a lead over the peloton, when the first crashes occurred. Unfortunately Songezo Jim hit the deck after 80 km of racing. Just a couple of kilometers later Serge Pauwels and Matt Brammeier were forced to get on their bikes again. The gap between the split peloton and the lead came down with around 100 kilometers ofRead More →