Doug Ryder, the founder and team principal of MTN-Qhubeka, said the future of his team was secure despite yesterday’s announcement MTN would not be renewing their sponsorship at the end of 2015.
MTN’s announcement, which came just a few days after the team had finished a triumphant Tour de France, had been long rumoured, although the timing of it could have been better. MTN said tough trading conditions had put a strain on their financial position. The team, the first registered in Africa to ride in the Tour de France, have been lauded for their performance at the Tour, which saw Daniel Teklehaimanot of Eritrea become the first black African to wear a major jersey in a Grand Tour when he lead the King of the Mountains category for a spell.
Steve Cummings, the Englishman, won what is now being called the Mandela Day Stage.
“We have had an amazing journey with MTN for the last eight years,” said Ryder, who admitted he had been a little taken aback by the timing of the announcement when he arrived back in South Africa yesterday morning, “but all things have their time, I suppose. Things move on and go forward. We have been in talks with partners for the future, and we are in the final stages of those negotiations, and we should be making an announcement in the next few weeks or so.”
It is understood Ryder has been talking to Dimension Data, the South African IT solutions company, who have a five-year deal as the technology partners of ASO, the owners of the Tour de France. Dimension Data signed a four-and-a-half year contract with MTN-Qhubeka, which was announced at the start of the Tour. Samsung, a current co-sponsor of the team, are also believed to be interested, as are Discovery, the South African medical insurance giants. All three companies had a sizeable marketing presence at this year’s Tour de France.
MTN-Qhubeka will be speaking to the UCI at the beginning of next month with regards to renewing or upgrading their licence with the world body for next year. There have been reports the team are considering taking the step up from Pro Continental, the second tier for professional squads, to World Tour, the elite category. There are 18 World Tour spots, although only 17 teams have filled them.
“I think we have shown that there is space for an African World Tour team in professional cycling,” said Ryder. “We changed a lot of perceptions about Africa at the Tour de France and showed what we are capable of. That has excited a lot of people. We want this adventure to continue. We want African cyclists to take their place at the top of the sport, and we’ve shown that we have the talent to do it. The support we have had from around the world has been unbelievable. I’m still blown away by it all.”
Ryder said that MTN had been an important part of the team’s development. MTN said they had spent some R100m sponsoring the team over the last two years.
“They were with us when we started this team, from when we wanted to be the best team in South Africa, then Africa and then took the step with us when we turned Pro Continental,” said Ryder. “I’m glad we could give them a Tour de France as reward for their partnership. That was a special thing for us and for them to share after eight years together.” - The Star