Cycling
Carlo Jonkerman, Special to ESPN 7y

5-strong African charge on 2017 Tour

Cycling

Disregarding Kenyan-born three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, who rides as a Briton, there will be five African cyclists at this year's race which starts on Saturday, 1 July in Düsseldorf, Germany.

That number is one less than the record tally of the previous two Tours, which in itself was thanks to MTN-Qhubeka receiving a wild card invitation in 2015 (when they picked five Africans) before their promotion and renaming to Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka to UCI WorldTour status - which guarantees grand tour entries.

As it happens, 'Africa's Team' have only selected two riders from the continent in their nine-man squad this time around. It is in no way an indictment on the abilities of African riders as five of them formed part of their successful Giro d'Italia campaign in May. Also, had Mark Cavendish not returned from illness in time for TDF 2017 then the complexion of the squad would definitely have had a more 'homely' feel.

Be that as it may, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg (main picture) and Jaco Venter will be Africa's only representatives in Africa's team.

Janse van Rensburg will be making his third straight appearance at the Tour (one of four to do so in Dimension Data's team), and will again form part of Cavendish's trusted sprint train as he attempts to close in on Eddy Merckx's record 34 Tour stage wins - he is on 30. The 28-year-old Janse van Rensburg will arguably have an extra watt or two for the 'Manx Missile' because his kit will adorn the South Africa flag, due to him being the country's current national road race champion.

Venter actually wore the national champion's jersey throughout last year, but not at Le Grand Boucle as this will be his debut - and complete his set of grand tour starts. The 30-year-old Venter is a different rider to his compatriot in that he is a mountain domestique. As such, he will look to give the team's sponsors mileage in breakaways, before switching focus as an ally to Serge Pauwels (the team's designated climber) when the Tour hits France's five mountainous regions, particularly the Pyrenees and the Alps.

In terms of the overall General Classification (GC), Louis Meintjes will be Africa's man to look out for.

The South African, who only turned 25 in February this year, still qualifies to compete for the young rider competition which comes with the honour of wearing a white jersey during the three-week long tour. He finished second in that competition in 2016 behind Adam Yates of Orica-Scott but the Englishman is not racing this year so Meintjes will be the main contender for the 25-and-under title - with Emanuel Buchmann (Bora-Hansgrohe) and Yates' twin brother Simon pushing him.

Of course, Meintjes will actually be focussed on racing all of the 'big dogs' as he finished 8th overall last year, climbs as well as the best there is and is UAE Team Emirates' designated leader, so will be 'protected' by his teammates in the key mountain stages. Funnily, Meintjes's three Tour de France appearances will have come in different teams, starting with MTN-Qhubeka (2015 - when illness saw him withdraw after 17 stages), then Lampre-Merida last year before their team splintered at season's end and he chose the option where he would be the main GC option. A stage win this year would signal progress for the soft-spoken Meintjes.

Meanwhile, Meintjes' Olympic Games teammate Daryl Impey will be throwing his weight behind Simon Yates and Esteban Chaves' efforts at Orica-Scott.

That said the 32-year-old, who will be making his fifth Tour de France appearance (all with the Australian team), will likely have some licence to hunt a stage victory himself with his background as a fast finisher, but one who climbs well too.

"Impey is one of the most versatile riders in our team, he can be used across a variety of stages," Orica's sporting director Matt White explained when their 2017 lineup was named. "He is a great teammate and knows when to pick his opportunities too."

Impey's place in 'Africa at the Tour de France' history is also secure: during the 2013 race, he became the first South African ever to wear the yellow jersey (for two stages) as overall race leader.

Somebody who is carving his own legacy too is Tsgbau Grmay, the fifth and final African at this year's Tour de France. The 25-year-old became the first Ethiopian to turn pro when he did so with Africa's team back in 2012 (after stints at the UCI's training centres in Potchefstroom, South African and in Aigle, Switzerland), and has slowly but surely built his name. A climber by trade, Grmay learnt his craft in cycling's second tier races before taking a step up in class when he joined Lampre-Merida in 2015. His two years with them saw him ride all three grand tours, again the first from his country to do so, and impress his South African boss Brent Copeland enough to be taken with when the team morphed into Bahrain-Merida this year. Grmay will will form part of 2014 winner Vincenzo Nibali's climbing contingent in this year's Tour, his second.

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