Cavendish and others join first team building session
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Mark Cavendish is followed by Daniel Teklehaimanot(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The MTN-Qhubeka team at the top of Table Mountain(Image credit: MTN-Qhubeka/Jens Herrndorff )
Table Mountain(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Looking down over Cape Town(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
King of the mountain: Daniel Teklehaimanot celebrates reaching the summit(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Jacques Janse van Rensburg enjoying the hike(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
A second group of riders reach the top(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
More riders reach the top(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Kanstantsin Siutsou performs the Qhubeka salute(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Staff gather at the top(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Edvald Boasson Hagen looking to gain a couple of extra metres(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Edvald Boasson Hagen gets up to the highest vantage point(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Riders on the mountainside(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The views from the top of Table Mountain were stunning(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
New signing Bernard Eisel on his way up(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Songezo Jim leads the way, followed a couple of places back by Rolf Aldag(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The riders and staff look up at the mountain ahead of the hike(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The team gathers for the start of the hike(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The team gathers for the start of the hike(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The team gathers for the start of the hike(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The team gathers for the start of the hike(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The team make their first steps and set off uphill(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The team make their first steps and set off uphill(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The team gathers for the start of the hike(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The riders make their way up the mountain(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Merhawi Kudus seems to be enjoying himself(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The heat gets to Edvald Boasson Hagen(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
Kristian Sbaragli makes his way to the top(Image credit: Sadhbh O'Shea)
The MTN-Qhubeka team swapped bikes for hiking boots on Tuesday as they, along with their new recruits, headed for the hills to walk up Cape Town’s Table Mountain.
It was an early start for all as the team left their waterfront hotel just after 7am. Despite that, the temperature was in the mid-20s and it would only rise throughout the day. After locating the whereabouts of the sun cream, and after a safety briefing from the guides, they set off.
With some only arriving to the camp as late as Monday, it was a good opportunity for the current crop to meet the new guys.
The pace took its toll and by the time that they reached the top, they had split into much smaller groups. Jay Thompson and Daniel Teklehaimanot were among the first over the top, while Mark Cavendish and Mark Renshaw brought up the rear.
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Born in Ireland to a cycling family and later moved to the Isle of Man, so there was no surprise when I got into the sport. Studied sports journalism at university before going on to do a Masters in sports broadcast. After university I spent three months interning at Eurosport, where I covered the Tour de France. In 2012 I started at Procycling Magazine, before becoming the deputy editor of Procycling Week. I then joined Cyclingnews, in December 2013.
