MTN Energade UCI Continental Road Team

Success  Created in 1997, Ryder Cycling’s UCI Continental men’s professional road team has been the most successful South African professional team over the past decade. Having won more than 50 percent of their races – in the past three years this has risen to more than 65 percent – the team has virtually become a South African sports institution. Currently known as MTN Energade, the eleven-man team is registered as a UCI Continental Team. The team is a mixture of experience and youth, in keeping with Ryder Cycling’s succession planning, which includes nurturing talented youngsters using cutting-edge scientific training methods and seasoned professionals as mentors.   In 2008, the team tackled the UCI Africa Tour for the first time, which was won by team captain Nicholas White. Other 2008 highlights include Jay Thomson winning the Tour d’ Egypte and the national Under-23 Men’s time trial championship, Ian McLeod winning the national Elite Men’s road race championship and Malcolm Lange winning three stages and the Points Jersey at the Tour du Moroc. David George, the 2006 Commonwealth Games road race silver medallist, has been selected to represent South Africa at the Beijing Olympic Games.  In 2009, Ryder Cycling plans to have the team racing at more events abroad, particularly in countries where the main sponsor, MTN, has an existing presence or is aiming to grow its brand.  2009 UCI Continental Team Team: Jay Thomson, Bradley Potgieter, Juan van Heerden, Ian McLeod, David George, Kevin Evans, Hichem Chabane, Sven Teutenberg, Adrien Niyonshuti, Jupiter Nameembo, Christoff van Heerden