Team MTN-Qhubeka will be known as Team Dimension Data from 2016 in a move that could pave the way for Mark Cavendish to join them.
As MTN-Qhubeka, the African team have made a big impact at this year’s Tour de France, where the Briton Steve Cummings won the 14th stage on Mandela Dayand Eritrean Daniel Teklehaimanot became the first African to wear the race’s King of the Mountains jersey.
Cavendish, a 26-time Tour de France stage winner, has been linked with the squad, with his three-year Etixx-Quick-Step deal expiring imminently.
The 30-year-old raced for the Belgian squad for the final time after sustaining a shoulder injury in crashing out of the Tour of Britain, won by MTN-Qhubeka’s Edvald Boasson Hagen.
The sponsorship of the UCI Professional Continental team by Dimension Data is anticipated to take it to the next level, and the global IT company will continue to support the Qhubeka charity, which has provided more than 4,000 bicycles in its BicyclesChangeLives campaign.
The team principal Douglas Ryder said: “We are incredibly excited to have Dimension Data become our new title partner. It enables us to continue to support the development of African cycling and the Qhubeka charity at the highest levels in world cycling.
“This is the next step in our journey and we look forward to accelerating our collective ambitions through this partnership.”
