- By Gregor Brown
- Published 1 hour ago
Tyler Farrar takes his first victory of 2014. Photo: Tim De Waele |
TDWsport.comMILAN (VN) — American Tyler Farrar is set to play an important part in the next chapter of MTN-Qhubeka as it pushes to become the first African team at the Tour de France.
“The Tour is the big event in our sport and that’s what we are going for,” Team MTN general manager Brian Smith told VeloNews.
“Nelson Mandela Day is the 18th of July, during the Tour de France. If this African team gets into the Tour de France, then that’s going to be huge for the team but also for the Qhubeka charity.”
The Qhubeka charity is committed to providing bicycles to children in need, in South Africa.
This winter, South Africa’s MTN squad beefed up its second division team by signing several riders from top, WorldTour squads. Along with Farrar from Garmin-Sharp, the team signed Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen (Sky), Dutchman Theo Bos (Belkin), Englishman Steve Cummings (BMC Racing), Australian Matt Goss (Orica-GreenEdge), and Belgian Serge Pauwels (Omega Pharma-Quick Step).
Some critics have said that MTN’s signings did not make sense, arguing that Boasson Hagen, Bos, Farrar and Goss are all the same type of riders: fast and strong, but not enough to win often.
Boasson Hagen won the 2009 Gent-Wevelgem and has won two stages at the Tour. Goss took the 2011 Milano-Sanremo title. And Washington-native Farrar counts stage wins in all three Grand Tours, including his 2011 Tour stage in Redon.
“Everyone has his own opinion,” Smith added. “I had to take on eight riders, thinking what is good for the team and its sponsors. I thought, how do you get brand awareness? I looked for experienced riders with names, riders that people forgot about. It was like when I worked at Cervélo TestTeam, we were looked for people with a point to prove.”
Farrar took the back seat in team Garmin this year as the team focused on its budding stage race talents Dan Martin and Andrew Talansky. Farrar raced the Giro d’Italia, but skipped the Tour de France and Vuelta a España. As if spurred by his new contract, he won for the first time in 2014 in October’s Tour of Beijing.
“Some people forgot about these riders,” Smith said. “If you take Farrar and Boasson Hagan together in a race like Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, their combined efforts are that of a race favourite. They just need that confidence and self-belief.”
“It’s good to challenge yourself sometimes,” 30-year-old Farrar told VeloNews in September after he inked his two-year deal. “You can fall into familiar patterns, so going somewhere different, with a different culture; that can be a good thing. I hope it can be a breath of fresh air.”
Farrar, and Smith’s other WorldTour signings, will have several challenges. They must help MTN’s young African talents like Louis Meintjes and Merhawi Kudus, lead the team in stage races and classics, and help bring Qhubeka money.
MTN-Qhubeka receives support from Africa’s telecommunications giant MTN and from electronics manufacturer Samsung, but gives to Qhubeka. The non-profit group provides poor Africans with bicycles in exchange for good deeds, such as growing 200 trees to 30 centimetres or collecting 4500 plastic bottles. Since 2005, it has distributed 51,000 bikes.
Smith wisely signed WorldTour riders from different areas of the worlds to attract potential donors who can help Qhubeka’s work.
“Louis Meintjes, Youcef Reguigui, and Adrien Niyonshuti are not recognised in America, but Tyler Farrar is,” Smith continued. “If Tyler wins next year in an MTN-Qhubeka shirt, what do you think the possibilities are of him rising funds from America?”
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