Adding a new Dimension to changing the way the world views Africa
IN JANUARY, Christian Prudhomme, the director of the Tour de France, was asked why he had included MTNQhubeka in this year’s line-up. He said Bernard Hinault, the five-time winner, had told him he had watched Eritrean riders at a race in Gabon a few years ago and been impressed.
“They remind me of the Colombian riders in the 80s but must be given time to mature. When they are ready, they will hurt!”
Today, Daniel Teklehaimanot of MTNQhubeka, the Eritrean champion, will be the first rider off the ramp on the prologue of the Tour de France, a 13.8km time trial around Utrecht. It will be a significant moment for MTN-Qhubeka and for Africa. They are the first African UCI-registered trade team of the modern era to take part in the grandest of bike races, with five Africans in their squad of nine riders, two Eritreans and three South Africans. Teklehaimanot won the King of the Mountains classification at the recent Criterium du Dauphine.
Yann Le Moenner, the managing director of the Amaury Sports Organisation that owns the Tour de France and most of the world’s top bike races, said while the narrative about MTN-Qhubeka and the charity for which they ride is a “very nice story”, they “deserved their place in the Tour de France”.
“What we liked is how the team and the project have been done in a step-bystep and professional way,” said Le Moenner.
“It was all about the project of the team,” said Le Moenner of the dream MTN-Qhubeka team principal Doug Ryder had to get a predominantly African team in the Tour.
“I loved the idea of an African team doing the Tour de France. France has a history and relationship with Africa, but it’s more than just France. The very first call I got (about MTN-Qhubeka) was from the UCI, to say, ‘Hey, there is this great project in Africa that we must get into European professional cycling and into the Tour de France.
“I went to see them a few years ago and got to know Doug and his project, and saw what they were doing in the townships and rural areas, and I loved it. We decided to give Doug and his team his chance. We invited them to some of our races and they did well. Then the team got bigger and we invited them to bigger races. We invited them to the Vuelta (Tour of Spain) last year, and now the Tour de France this year. They have grown into a team worthy of the race.”
Africa’s and, in particular, South Africa’s relationship with the Tour grew significantly when they signed a fiveyear partnership with Dimension Data, the South African IT giant, to be their technology partner.
As with MTN-Qhubeka, with whom Dimension Data have signed a sponsorship agreement, Le Moenner liked the story of how Dimension Data grew from a small company into what they are today. “We are about to enter into this digital era and want to have interactive partners to build everything for the future. We did not want a partner that would just be the insert on the graphics on television, we wanted to grow, to accelerate our ambitions.”
Dimension Data announced this week they had completed their “big data analytics and digital delivery platform from which the company will deliver real-time information on riders for the first time in the history of professional cycling”.
In essence, each of the 198 riders will have a tracking device that will allow the viewing public to follow the speed, position of each rider and distance between cyclists in real time. “The technology will allow cycling fans to follow the race in ways they’ve never been able to before,” said Dimension Data’s executive chairman, Jeremy Ord. “Until now it was difficult to understand what was happening outside of what could be shown on the live television coverage. During the duration of the three-week race, we’ll be rolling out a range of new capabilities, including a beta live tracking website… We analysed one cyclist cycling at an astounding 104km/h (at the Criterium du Dauphine).”
“This top notch technological development will enable a better analysis of the race, highlight the race tactics, and also show how essential in this sport is each rider’s role within his team,” said Prudhomme. “It will now be possible to understand how to prepare for a sprint finish in the last few kilometres of a stage, feel the wind’s impact on the rider’s speed, and so much more. Our efforts combined with those of Dimension Data will permanently change the way we follow cycling and the Tour de France.”
Starting with an Eritrean who hopes to hurt the rest of the field, MTNQhubeka are hoping to change the way the cycling world views Africa and the way Africa views cycling.