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Qhubeka names new gold sponsor

Cape Town - Deloitte has become a gold sponsor of Ryder Cycling, the owner and manager of the hugely successful MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung cycling team, which managed a fifth place finish out of 22 teams that competed in this year’s Tour de France.

This forms part of a new sponsorship deal for Africa’s only UCI Professional Continental Cycling Team, which comprises a collaborative effort between Deloitte, the global professional services and consulting firm, and international ICT solutions provider, Dimension Data, the new title sponsor of Ryder Cycling. The new sponsorship arrangement means that as of 1 January 2016 the team will be known as Team Dimension Data.

Speaking after the announcement, Lwazi Bam, Deloitte Africa CEO, said:  “Deloitte, Dimension Data and Ryder Cycling share a common vision and desire to strive for professional excellence whilst at the same time making a positive social impact.  That makes this partnership between two leading multinational firms and a world class African cycling team a truly special moment as it offers us an opportunity to demonstrate that home-grown African talent can deliver on the global stage when given the opportunity.”

Ryder Cycling’s MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung team made history earlier this year when it became the first African-registered cycling outfit to compete in the Tour de France. The tremendous successes of the team, which was one of five wild-card teams invited to participate in the race, included: 

- Wearing  the prestigious King of the Mountain jersey for four days on the shoulders of Eritrean rider, Daniel Teklehaimanot –   the first African rider to do so 

- Stephen Cummings winning the 14th stage on Mandela Day 

- Fifth place overall in the Team competition 

- Raising over 4,000 bicycles in their #BicyclesChangeLives campaign 

“We are incredibly excited to have Deloitte become one of our main sponsors,” said Team Principal, Douglas Ryder. “Deloitte’s mission is to help their clients excel and to make an impact that matters. This is a perfect match for our team as we continue to ride to promote and develop cycling on the African continent and to support our #BicyclesChangeLives campaign through the Qhubeka charity. The technological collaboration between Deloitte and Dimension Data will help our team excel by becoming more connected and operationally efficient as we strive to be the best that we can be in the next phase of this team’s incredible journey.”

Ryder Cycling founded the Qhubeka cycling team in 2007 with the aim of providing talented African cyclists with a path to the pro peloton while at the same time raising funds for the Qhubeka Charity. Qhubeka is a Nguni word that means “to progress” or “to move forward” with the eponymously named charity also acting as World Bicycle Relief’s official program in South Africa.

In rural regions of Africa, many students face the challenge of having to travel significant distances to get to school. Of the 11 million students that walk to school in South Africa each day, half a million walk more than one hour each way. Fortunately distance is a barrier to education than can be eliminated with the simple provision of a bicycle. 

Through #BicyclesChangeLives, the Team is providing bicycles to students, giving them the tools to access education and to make their own path in life.

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