PRESS RELEASE – Immediate Release

Johannesburg (6 October 2011)

UCI African Continental Cycling Centre

The Engen Dynamic Cycle Challenge on Sunday 2 October 2011 saw the UCI African Continental Cycling Centre (ACCC) challenging more experienced athletes for some of the top spots.

Jani Tewelde finished fourth overall and second in the U23 category, while teammate Aymen Mraihi finished in 12th place overall and sixth in the U23 category. Unfortunately for Zambian UCI ACCC rider Obert Chembe, he had a crash at 10km and then a puncture at 30km, which compromised his race as he was unable to catch up with the peloton due to the fast pace on the descent.

According to assistant coach Marnitz Aucamp, the race pace was easy at first, probably due to the rainy conditions.

“After the riders warmed up, the pace lifted and they started to attack,” he says. “A small crash in the first 10 km of the race left Obert Chembe to fight to get back to the peloton and shortly thereafter he got a puncture; a bad day for him. Some riders got away from the peloton including Reinhard Janse van Rensburg (MTN-Qhubeka), Hanco Kachelhoffer (Bonitas) and Richard Baxter (Tasol-GT), reaching a time gap of approximately 1:40 min. Bonitas then decided to chase down the leading riders and the peloton caught up with the breakaway group with about 5km to go.

“The race concluded as a bunch sprint, where the UCI ACCC riders set up a lead out for Jani Tewelde, the team’s best sprinter. Meran Russan, Aymen Mraihi and Tesfai Habtemariam gave Jani a lead to perfection. Unfortunately Arran brown (MTN-Qhubeka), Nolan Hoffman (Tasol-GT) and Tyler Day (Bonitas) were just too fast for him.”

Aucamp notes that it was a fantastic weekend and the team enjoyed the chance to perform with South Africa’s top athletes.

“We were tired and stressed, but everything played out very well and we were super proud to get another podium finish,” he says.

The men’s elite race was won by MTN-Qhubeka’s Arran Brown with Nolan Hoffman in second and Tyler Day in third (also winning the U23 category).

The UCI ACCC team enjoys a strong relationship with the MTN-Qhubeka team, which has sponsored the ACCC riders’ cycling apparel for the past three years and will do so again in 2012.

“We think the UCI African Continental Cycling Centre is doing wonderful things for the sport of cycling throughout the continent of Africa and we’re proud to partner with them in this way,” says Doug Ryder, MTN-Qhubeka Team Principal.

Many of the current 2011 MTN-Qhubeka riders have come to the team through the UCI ACCC development initiative, including Adrien Niyonshuti, Loto Petrus and Stanley Namanyana. Ryder hints that there are further UCI ACCC riders who will be joining the team in 2012. The announcement will be made within the next few days.

About Team MTN-Qhubeka

Team MTN-Qhubeka is Africa’s most winning and most multi-discipline continental race team. With men and women’s road racing teams, men and women’s MTB teams and BMX team, MTN-Qhuebka comprises a team of 24 men and women athletes back four different nations.

One of the focus areas at Team MTN-Qhubeka is the development of a new generation of competitive African athletes. 14 of the 24 athletes are under 26 years of age, making MTN-Qhubeka one of the youngest professional teams around. The team is a blend of talented young riders and more experienced leaders that have generated more than 385 race victories in the past three years.

For more information, visit www.qhubeka.org.