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Qhubeka! Moving forward with SASMA

2013; BMJ; Volume: 47; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1136/bjsports-2013-092490

1473-0480

Jon Patricios, Glen J Hagemann,

High Altitude and Hypoxia

Featured on the cover of this month's BJSM , Team MTN Qhubeka combines experienced and emerging continental riders from Germany, Spain, Lithuania and Italy, with home-grown African talent from South Africa, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Ruanda. Arguably, there is no other cycling team that better represents genetic diversity. Uniquely, this elite cycling team also has a large community focus. It works closely with the Qhubeka foundation (http://www.qhubeka.org) which donates bicycles to communities who are environmentally conscious under the mantra ‘Mobilising kids with bikes’ a sort of rural Exercise is Medicine initiative! Team MTN Qhubeka is far from being another African handout story. While still having to earn its stripes to compete in the Grand Tours, success in several of Europe's Spring Classic races has set the cat among the pelaton's pigeons. Songezo Jim, an orphan from the townships of Cape Town, became the first black African to participate in the longest 1-day Classic on the racing calendar, the Milan Sanremo,1 a race won by team captain Gerald Ciolek. Ciolek also had a podium finish in stage 2 of the 7-day Tirreno Adriatico across …