Tour de France St.17: MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung best team again pubblicato il 22/07/2015



Tour de France #17: MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung best team again

3 riders in stage top 15, Pauwels now 15th on GC

Stage 17 of the Tour de France would be another excellent day for Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung, as our African team consolidated its 2nd place in the team ranking overall by having 3 riders finish in the top 15 on the stage. Simon Geschke (Giant-Alpecin) was the rider who won the stage. 

With a large break of 28 riders going clear today, MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung had three riders placed in the big move of the day. Serge Pauwels, Daniel Teklehaimanot and Merhawi Kudus were the three riders on the attack. It would be a tough first stage in the Alps with 5 categorised climbs on the menu.

The real action began when the lead group started attacking each other with 50km to go. Geschke would eventually get away alone and he was being chased by Daniel on the lower slopes cat 1 Col d' Allos. A few more attacks from the chasers, which were all marked by Serge and Merhawi, saw Daniel being caught. Near the summit of the penultimate climb, Thibaut Pinot (FDJ) put in a stinging attack that broke the chase group apart.

There was a rather treacherous descent to the final 6km climb with Pinot even hitting the tarmac. Geschke though, started the final climb with a 1'51" lead over his nearest chaser and it was enough to solo to victory at the top of the climb. Serge was our first rider across the line in 9th place, while Daniel and Merhawi finished in 12th and 14th respectively. It was a superb performance that saw our team finishing as the best team on the stage once again, pulling back 3'53" on Movistar who lead the team standings. Another significant result was that Serge moved up to 15th place on the general classification.

There was also another race on within the stage today for our young climbing sensation, Louis Meintjes, who was fighting to finish within the time cut. Louis started the stage after falling ill overnight, with stomach problems severely affecting the young rider. Louis would spend the majority of the race alone and well off the pace. Eventually, with just 3 minutes to spare before the time cut, Louis crossed the line. 

Serge Pauwels - Rider
I wasn't really planning to go in the breakaway today because I thought it might be a stage for the GC riders. When I saw there were a lot of riders attacking and going up the road early on I thought I better get involved. We also had Daniel and Merhawi up there so it was a good breakaway for us. I was also able to make up some time for the GC so it was another good day out for us. 

Michel Cornelisse - Sport Director
Once again it was another amazing result for our team today. It has now been 3 days in a row that we have won the best team stage classification. Serge was again very good and also Merhawi and Daniel, they were all very strong. The team are fantastic and we are really happy right now.

About MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung 
Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung was founded in 2007, steadily working its way up from a regional team to now being a Continental Pro team with bases in South Africa and Italy. MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung’s goal is to give talented African riders a path into the pro peloton while raising funds for Qhubeka. In 2015, MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung are inviting you to help them mobilise 5,000 kids on bicycles. To contribute to the #BicyclesChangeLives Campaign, click here.

Qhubeka is an Nguni word that means “to progress”“to move forward”. Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) is World Bicycle Relief's program in South Africa. World Bicycle Relief (worldbicyclerelief.org) is a global non-profit organization dedicated to advancing education, health and economic opportunities by providing simple, sustainable transportation. Since World Bicycle Relief’s founding in 2005, it has delivered more than 220,000 specially designed, locally assembled bicycles to people in need. To contribute to the #BicyclesChangeLives Campaign, click here.

MTN (mtn.co.za) is a long-time supporter of Qhubeka and the team. Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a leading emerging market operator, connecting 219.2 million subscribers in 22 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.


Learn more about the team at www.teammtnqhubeka.com.
Enjoy our fanzone at www.teammtnqhubeka.com/Fanzone.



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