After years of gradual progression the squad known to all as Team MTN-Qhubeka has hit the big time in professional cycling terms. With their acquiring a World Tour license, Team Dimension Data – as the squad will be known from 1 January 2016 – are making the next step in a journey that has been long as it has been gradual, a true example of following through on a vision in the best sense of the term.
And yet while Africa’s squad has enjoyed phenomenal success in terms of actual race results over the past few years, what strikes one is their proactive stance with the media and the public in general.
From the riders to the management, the mechanics or the soigneurs: an openness like few others is evident in the often closed and cut-throat world that is professional cycling, which is refreshing and encouraging all the same.
In early November I attended a talk at a local junior school here in Cape Town. The speaker was Douglas Ryder, Team Principal of Team Dimension Data and SACS Old Boy. Briefing the audience at his alma mater, the articulate and passionate Ryder recounted the team’s origins as well as giving an insider’s account of their maiden Tour de France in 2015. The level of detail that Ryder went through in little over an hour was impressive, giving the average observer an insight into his operation that I’m not sure would happen with most other squads.
While no doubt scratching the surface of what actually goes into running such an organisation, listening to Ryder wax lyrical about financial, logistical and even political factors was as interesting as it was informative. Even Louis Meintjes’ shock departure to a rival team was covered and one got the sense of the anger and hurt incurred as a result of his move. But then Ryder has always been like that, going back to his own cycling career where his willingness to speak his mind and big match temperament won him both fans and detractors. Professional sport is like that and I guess one cannot please everybody.
So it was not surprising to learn of the airing of Qhubeka – To Move Forward on Supersport over the past weekend. A look back at the team’s Tour de France debut, I have to say that I was impressed. Much of what made up the show was covered in Ryder’s school speech and it was refreshing to hear it again as well as the “behind the scenes” inserts with some of the team staff.
Perhaps some of the most interesting content came from Dr. Jarrad Van Zuydam, the team’s medical practitioner. It is a testament to how far professional cycling has come over the past decade in terms of rider health. Performance and health are separate entities in the squad says Van Zuydam, who went on to explain that preventation is the key aspect of his function, hence the constant monitoring of each rider’s weight, urine and even sleep.
It is often the case that many a celebrity tends to have access and association to high-level sports and athletes at will. Having borne witness to this phenomenon on several occasions, I often wonder whether this “buddy-buddy” mantra is in fact real and not more for show and/or mutual gain. That said David Higgs, the team chef for Le Tour, cuts an affable and modest individual despite his high public profile here in South Africa. He appears genuinely humble and even out of his depth at times when interviewed and gives the viewer a guided tour of the most cramped and pressurised of working environments. I feel sorry for the hotel chefs when we come into their kitchens he says, before imparting advice on how trolley coupons are essential for supermarket shopping in France amongst other quirks.
Nelson Mandela’s “Education is a weapon” is recounted in several of the team talks at the front of the bus before each stage, particularly on the day of Steve Cummings’ monumental stage win on Mandela Day. While this mantra is no doubt instilled in the riders as part of the Qhubeka credo, education really is a weapon on this day, as it was for Daniel Teklehaimanot’s equally – if not more – important spell in the King of the Mountains jersey during the first week in France. Both results were the result of long term planning on the part of the management, with Ryder driving ahead of the race each day in order to relay road and weather conditions as well as finish layouts.
While it apparent that no stone is left unturned in their quest for peak performance – Ryder recounted how Team MTN-Qhubeka were the only team to bring fans for searing night-time hotel rooms – what sticks out is a true espirit de corps amongst riders and staff and alike. Whether the team is able to build on their 2015 success will be fascinating to watch, but the main thing to remember is that have got there despite the naysayers and against all odds. After all, it is not that long ago that rider Jacques Janse Van Rensburg was representing the team in local marathon mountain bike racing.
Boerewors rolls on the Champs Elysees?
Who would have thought?
