Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka is happy to welcome 3 stagiaires, joining our World Tour team for the remainder of the 2018 season. Matteo Sobrero, Kent Main and Connor Swift will all begin their apprenticeship with our African Team this month.
From August 1, the UCI allows for up to 3 stagiaires, u23 or elite riders never to have raced professionally before, to join a World Tour team. A stagiaire may not compete in any World Tour events but is able to participate in any continental level event our World Tour team competes in, between August 1st and December 31st.
Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka is happy to welcome 21-year-old Italian, Matteo Sobrero and 22-year-old South African, Kent Main as 2018 stagiaires. Both riders join us from our continental feeder team and will hope to follow in the footsteps of their former continental team teammates, Ryan Gibbons, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier and Nicolas Dlamini, who are all currently World Tour pro’s that enjoyed stagiaire roles with us previously.
Sobrero has had a breakthrough season with our continental squad, consistently placing in the top 10 at numerous u23 UCI level races throughout the season. A highlight would certainly have been winning the Coppa della Pace in June before placing 3rd at the opening prologue of the u23 Giro d’Italia just four days later. Sobrero is currently one of the best young talents in Italy, which he also confirmed with national senior team selection for the Tour of Alps and by placing 2nd at the u23 National Time Trial Championships this year.
Main is a talented South African rider who has ridden brilliantly in service of his teammates for the past two seasons on our Continental team. After helping teammates to podium results at three separate u23 classics this year, Main was still able to finish in the front group after sacrificing his own chances. Much of the success our continental team has had over the past two seasons can also be attributed to Main’s leadership on the bike, and we are delighted to give him this opportunity with our World Tour team.
Connor Swift is our final stagiaire for the 2018 season and if that name sounds familiar to you, it is most likely because Swift is the current British National Road Race Champion. Swift, who rides for the continental Madison Genesis team, won the British Road Race in early July in fine style, and at just 22 years of age. Swift is a powerful rider with a knack for picking out the decisive moves in tough classic style races.
With The Arctic Race of Norway, Deutschland Tour, Tour of Britain and various end of season Italian one-day classics populating our end of season race calendar, we look forward to giving these three young riders their opportunity in the pro peloton and wish them the best of luck.
Douglas Ryder – Team Principal
