Steve Cummings attacked from behind on the final climb on stage 14 of the Tour de France to win for MTN-Qhubeka, on the special anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s birthday. An already special day became a historic fairy-tale win, with the first Tour stage victory for the team on such an important day of remembrance for South Africa.
“This will go down in history,” Brian Smith, sports director for the team, told the Cyclingnews podcast. “Steve Cummings, a Brit, winning on Mandela Day! I don’t think the script could be written any better, but we have to keep our feet on the ground. I want to win another stage, and we have got the guys capable of winning another.”
Rather than a celebratory holiday, Nelson Mandela International Day, (Mandela Day for short), is used to give back to the communities of South Africa. In the spirit of the former President and his legacy, people commemorate by doing 67 minutes of community and voluntary service. Mandela would have celebrated his 97th birthday on Saturday.
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MTN-Qhubeka riders donned special orange and black helmets Saturday, to raise awareness for Qhubeka and the bicycle change lives campaign. The campaign is raising money this season in order to provide students in Africa with 5,000 bicycles. Meanwhile, team staff, media, and fans wore yellow and black beaded bracelets in memory of Mandela.
Qhubeka Founder Anthony Fitzhenry agreed, “We see this as an opportunity to bring unity to our supporters from all over the world and we thank them for their help in assisting Qhubeka in relieving poverty in Africa through bicycles.”
“As a child I dreamed of being able to ride in the Tour de France,” Louis Meintjes said, one of the five African riders competing for the team. “To be able to not only ride in this prestigious race but know that I’m doing something good for other people is really special.
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