After the rest day in Pau, MTN-Qhubeka quickly found their way in the second week of the Tour de France, with three of their riders finishing inside the top 30 as the race had its first day in the mountains yesterday.
Serge Pauwels finished 14th while his teammate, Jacques Janse van Rensburg, was 18th, and Louis Meintjies was not far behind in 24th.
MTN-Qhubeka powered by Samsung were the fifth-best team on the stage, and ninth overall for the Tour.
“My initial goal was to be in the long breakaway but after trying in those first few kilometres I felt I had good legs after the rest day,” said Pauwels.
“In the final climb I was surprised I was able to follow the best for such a long time. I didn’t want to get in the way of the real GC (general classification) guys so at first I gave them some space but then I saw (defending champion Vincenzo) Nibali got dropped and I still had good legs. I just kept riding within my own limits. This is a great result for me. I am happy to have been given so much confidence by the team.”
Daniel Teklehaimanot finally surrendered the King of the Mountains jersey he had held since last week, having become the first black African to wear a major leader’s jersey at a Grand Tour. Here’s the thing – Teklehaimanot isn’t even the best climber on the team. Meintjies and the other Eritrean on the team, Merhawi Kudus are stronger, while Janse van Rensburg can scamper up a climb with the best of them.
Winning the polka dot jersey had turned the Eritrean champion into the talk of the cycling world, turning the spotlight firmly on to African cycling and the cause for which MTN-Qhubeka rides – to get 5000 scholars on bikes by the end of the Tour. Teklehaimanot featured in newspapers the world over, including the New York Times. - The Star