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Team Qhubeka ASSOS line-up for 104th Giro d’Italia

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Team Qhubeka ASSOS, Africa’s UCI WorldTour outfit, is delighted to announce our line-up for the 2021 Giro d’Italia.

The 104th edition of the iconic event (8-30 May) will see the Italian duo of Giacomo Nizzolo and Domenico Pozzovivo spearhead our efforts in our 6th appearance at the race.

Nizzolo, the current European and Italian champion, returns to his home race having last ridden in 2019, and will be looking to add another chapter to his own history with the event.

Twice the winner of the points jersey – in 2015 and 2016 – the 31-year-old will be aiming for a first-ever stage victory in his ninth appearance.

2021 has seen the man from Milan in strong, fighting form with ten top-10 finishes, punctuated by victory at Clasica de Almeria along with a strong Classics campaign. The highlight of that being placed second at Gent-Wevelgem in Flanders Fields.

Pozzovivo takes to the start line of the Giro for the 15th time, his 21st Grand Tour, and will be looking to build on the incredibly strong performance he displayed in 2020. After initially fighting it out in the opening two weeks of the race inside the top-10, he faltered slightly in the final week finishing 11th overall on the general classification.

A former stage-winner here nearly 10 years ago, and having finished five times inside the top-10 overall, the 38-year-old will be looking to proudly fly the Qhubeka colours in his favourite race.

By contrast, there will be two Giro d’Italia debutants in our selection in Germany’s Max Walscheid and exciting young Swiss rider Mauro Schmid. The German makes his bow following on from his first start of the Tour de France in 2020, and will be a crucial support to Nizzolo in the sprint opportunities on offer.

Schmid, who has impressed during the course of 2021, will be tasked with using his rapidly improving racing nous in delivering on team’s daily objectives, a role he will be relishing.

Schmid’s joined by compatriot Kilian Frankiny who rode his first Giro d’Italia in 2018 and then followed that up with an excellent ride in 2020. His top result last year was finishing 4th on stage nine, and then placing 5th on stage 17, the day in which former rider Ben O’Connor was victorious.

In the support of Nizzolo and Walscheid, in particular, there will be crucial roles played by the experienced duo of Bert-Jan Lindeman, who has twice previously ridden the race, as well as Poland’s Lukasz Wisniowski who lines up for the second time.

Our selection is completed by Belgium’s Victor Campenaerts. The time trial specialist will be focused on the opening stage 8.6km route in Torino as well as the traditional closing stage in Milan. In 2020, he was second on the final day, as well as placing second on stage 19.

2020 has seen Campenaerts show his versatility following a strong performance during a debut Classics campaign, and he’ll be a man to pay close attention to over the course of the race.

Throughout 2021 Team Qhubeka ASSOS has had fans announcing our team line-ups via a video submission in whatever way they chose fit. This has been hugely well received and the unique nature of this engagement has brought them, both old and new, right into the heart of our team.

For the 104th Giro d’Italia we called upon an extra special set of supporters to make the announcement: step forward Team Qhubeka ASSOS staff members!

These are some of the most important members of our organisation, the people working behind the scenes to enable our team to compete on the world’s biggest stage; who embody the purpose of our team in changing lives through bicycles, in the true spirit of Ubuntu – I am because we are.

104th Giro d’Italia line-up [squad numbers]

  • Giacomo Nizzolo [33]
  • Max Walscheid [13]
  • Mauro Schmid [14]
  • Bert-Jan Lindeman [02]
  • Victor Campenaerts [55]
  • Lukasz Wisniowski [99]
  • Domenico Pozzovivo [03]
  • Kilian Frankiny [19]

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.