Race Reports (Page 125)

Fabio Aru (Astana) just pipped Chris Froome to the line to win the 18th stage of the Vuelta a Espana. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) led the famous Spanish trio (Rodriguez,Contador) home some 13″ later in 3rd place. Our Spaniard, Sergio Pardilla did a great ride to finish the stage in 11th position while our South African climber, Jacques Janse van Rensburg did superbly to finish 20th even after playing a support role to Pardilla. The 18th stage was to be the fastest of the Vuelta so far as riders were averaging close on 50km/h for the first 2 hours of racing. A number of moves triedRead More →

John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) won the sprint on the 17th stage of the Vuelta a Espana. The German sprinter beat Michael Matthews (Orica-Grenedge) and Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) after a technical run in to the line, that included a cobbled section of road which ended with just 3km to go. Our GC contender Sergio Pardilla was our highest placed rider in 33rd position. Being the stage after the 2nd rest day, many thought there was a chance that the break could make it to the finish today. That was nearly the case as Degenkolb only came round the last of the escapees with less thanRead More →

The 16th stage of the Vuelta a Espana would be the defining stage in terms of the General Classification. The severity of the course made sure it was a very select group of favourites that arrived at the base of the final 16km climb Lagos de Somiedo. Among the big names in the GC group, Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had 2 representatives in the form of 22 year old Louis Meintjes and our Spaniard Sergio Pardilla. It was not all plain sailing to get to this point though and it was a great team effort that ensured our 2 climbers could be in contention for theRead More →

The 15th stage of La Vuelta a Espana would prove to be an arduous day with the race finishing on the out of category Covadonga climb. The stage winner would be Przemyslaw Niemiec (Lampre-Merida) after being the sole survivor from the days 5 man break. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) was 2nd and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) was 3rd as they crossed the line just 5″ down, with race leader Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) in 4th. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had Sergio Pardilla finish as our highest placed rider in 27th position, 5’01” down on the stage victor. Pardilla now sits in 19th on the General Classification. The restRead More →

The 14th stage of the La Vuelta a Espana would go on to be the best so far for Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung. While Ryder Hesjedal (Garmin-Sharp) would win the stage ahead of Olivier Zaugg (Tinkoff-Saxo) and Imanol Erviti (Movistar), it was the attacking style of the Team MTN-Qhubeka riders and the talent of Louis Meintjes that had many on the edge of their seats. Initially a 23 rider break would go clear after 50km’s of racing. In the move we had Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Jaco Venter and Louis Meintjes all present, giving us the numerical advantage over all the other teams. Venter contributed heavilyRead More →

The 11th Tour of Britain gets underway on Sunday with a 104km road stage and will run over 8 days finishing on the 14th of September. The British race brings back fond memories for Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung as last year we were able to win a stage with Gerald Ciolek, and Sergio Pardilla also finished 6th overall. As the premier race in Britain, the professional peloton hold the event in high regard and a strong field is expected at the start once again this year. Although Ciolek and Pardilla are on duty at the Vuelta a Espana, Team MTN-Qhubeka will still send a strongRead More →

The 13th stage of La Vuelta a Espana turned out to be a really good one for Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung. Jay Thomson made sure our African team were represented in the strong 11 rider breakaway and then when it ll came back together just before the finish, we managed to place 5 riders in the top 50 positions. Daniel Navarro (Cofidis) would win the stage after jumping clear of a select group in the tight, technical and tough final kilometers. Daniel Moreno (Katusha) was 2nd and Wilco Kelderman (Belkin) crossed the line 3rd. Our Sergio Pardilla jumped up one spot in the General ClassificationRead More →

The 12th stage of La Vuelta a Espana was a 8 lap circuit race around Logrono that John Degenkolb (Giant-Shimano) won quite easily in the end. There was a big crash just before the kilometer to go sign that held up 90% of the peloton, including all the MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung riders. Tom Boonen (Omega Pharma Quickstep) was 2nd on the stage and Jacopo Guarnieri (Astana) was 3rd. While the day’s racing was a great spectacle for the crowds, the stage it self was rather uneventful until the final lap. One rider, Matthias Krizek (Cannondale) would escape from the peloton and would gain up toRead More →

Fabio Aru (Astana) rode to victory on the 11th stage of La Vuelta a Espana. The young Italian arrived 6 seconds before the GC favourites group where Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) crossed the line 2nd and Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha) was 3rd. Even though the stage finished at the summit of the San Miguel de Aralar, there was very little change to the GC. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had a good day placing 5 riders in the top 50 on a really tough stage. Initially the plan was to place one of our young climbers in the early break but due to the infighting for bonus secondsRead More →

The 10th stage of the Vuelta a Espana saw the riders tackle the 36.7km time trial course with Tony Martin (Omega Pharma Quickstep) showing off his world champion pedigree by taking the stage win. Rigoberto Uran (Omega Pharma Quickstep) made it a good day for the Belgian team by taking 2nd place, Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) was 3rd. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung set out with the plan to have Daniel Teklehaimanot and Sergio Pardilla give the course a real go while the remaining riders conserved some energy for the days to come. Teklehaimanot came home with the fastest time, just 2’56” behind the worldRead More →