The 29-year-old world hour record holder, who retrained as a classic rider this season, has already participated five times in the Giro (2017-2021) – he won the 15th stage this year – and twice in the Vuelta (2016 and 2018), but never on the Tour.
Two other Qhubeka riders can also taste their first Tour de France, namely the American Sean Bennet (25) and the South African Nicholas Dlamini (25).
Striking: Dlamini becomes the first black South African in the Tour. “Being selected is an absolute dream,” says Dlamini, who grew up in a Cape Town suburb. “I dreamed of this as a child and now that it is really happening, it feels unreal.
