South African Reinardt Janse Van Rensburg makes his return to the MTN-Qhubeka team this season after two years spent away with Giant-Shimano. The soon to be 26-year-old is hoping to bring some of the lessons he learned with the Dutch team back to MTN-Qhubeka and help it make history.
"It was always in the back of my head that if the team is progressing, I want to come back," Janse Van Resnburg said. "We're making history here. It's a good feeling to make that history in African cycling, and I want to be a part of that. I always wanted to be part of the project again."
"I had a good time in Giant-Shimano - it was a good team. It was a great experience. I learned a lot. it was one of the best lead-out trains, and you couldn't ask for a better school."
Part of his schooling included a trip to the 2013 Vuelta a España, where he learned a lot from the experience, and he hopes to bring some of his knowledge back to the African team.
"I think some of the mentality of all for one, one for all is something we can bring back to MTN, the way the lead-out train was so professional in Giant-Shimano. We can do something similar."
The team has signed a number of big riders from the World Tour, including Matthew Goss, Tyler Farrar and Theo Bos, who will make a formidable lead-out train for 2013 Milan-San Remo winner Gerald Ciolek. "I'm looking forward to winning some races with these guys," he said. .
The team is the first from Africa since Barloworld to make the Tour de France, and Janse Van Rensburg is hoping to earn his place in the team in July.
"The team's big goal is the Tour de France and I hope to make the team and I hope to get a stage win there," he said to Cyclingnews.