Yesterday, MTN Qhubeka took their first victory of 2014 on European soil when Gerald Ciolek won the Vuelta a Andalucía stage to Sevilla in a sprint. CyclingQuotes spoke to Ciolek about the Qhubeka project, the image of cycling in Germany, his memorable win in the 2013 Milano-Sanremo and the upcoming spring classics.

In MTN Qhubeka's first season as a Professional Continental team, many of the team's riders had to get accustomed to European racing. Ciolek says that he and the other more experienced European pros have the role of mentors to their African team mates: "There are some things that we teach in the races: How a big team operates in the final, how to prepare for the final, and so on. I do try to pass something on in every race."

In last year's Vattenfall Cyclassics, for instance, the lead-out didn't work as planned: Ciolek had to sprint from around 20th position (he eventually finished 21st). But yesterday's stage in the Vuelta a Andalucía showed how far the team has come, taking control of the peloton in the final kilometres and delivering its leader to his first victory of the season.

Qhubeka

From the start, Team MTN Qhubeka wasn't 'only' another new cycling team. Besides being a pathway to top-level cycling for African talents, the team also races to build exposure and raise funding for Qhubeka's rural initiatives.

At the start of the 2014 season, the team has launched a fund-raising campaign with the hashtag #BicyclesChangeLives. Last year, MTN Qhubeka riders donated a portion of their prize money to the Qhubeka project, and now they want to build on that by inspiring their social media followers to contribute as well.

The initial goal for the campaign is to raise enough money for 1100 bicycles. The bikes are assembled in South Africa, and recipients don't simply receive them as a gift: They have to earn their bikes e.g. by cultivating trees, collecting plastic bottles or improving their communities in other ways.

During team camps in South Africa, the riders participate in bike handouts and community races. "It's nice to see what the team stands for," Ciolek says. "It would be a lie to say that I'm thinking of the kids in Africa in the final of a race, but it's good to know that my team promotes a good cause, and does things a bit differently. That makes each of us proud. It's a breath of fresh air in cycling, and it's great to be a part of it."

Cycling in Germany

Despite the resurgence of German cycling, with Tony Martin, Marcel Kittel, André Greipel and John Degenkolb all winning important races, Ciolek is skeptical when asked about the bad, doping-marred image that the sport has in his home country: "I don’t think the general attitude will change anytime soon. The media have to make the first step – how can the success be acknowledged if nobody reports it? It’s up to the media to have some trust in the sport again, look at all the stuff that’s happened in the past few years, in anti-doping and otherwise, and reward that."

He also thinks that the time of teams centered on one nationality is over: "This national focus, with German, Italian, French teams, will become less in the future. Cycling is becoming more and more international. Quick Step wasn’t a very Belgian team, the whole structure was quite international; and I’ve always felt comfortable in these teams."

Milano-Sanremo

MTN Qhubeka hasn't been invited to the Giro d'Italia or the Tour de France; therefore, the spring classics will be the team's main highlights for the season.

Last year, Ciolek surprised everyone by winning a Milano-San Remo that will undoubtedly be remembered for some time: The race had to be stopped in Ovada after 117 km, and the riders – frozen and covered in slush and ice – were transported over the Passo del Turchino in the team buses. The climb of Le Mànie was also cut.

"The hardest thing was to stay motivated," Ciolek says. "Going out there again just after getting some warmth and tackling the rest of the race was going to be hard – I knew from the moment I stepped on the bus that I mustn't think even for one second that I'd rather stay in the bus. But once we were on the road again, the final of the race was pretty normal."

The race was re-started in Cogoleto, 130 cold and rainy kilometres from San Remo. When pre-race favourites Sagan and Cancellara made their moves on the Poggio, Ciolek rode a clever race and made it into an elite group also including Chavanel, Stannard and Paolini.

"It was an ideal situation for me," recalls the German. "The favourites kept looking at each other. It's hard to win if you're the one everyone is watching. I think I've made the most of the situation."

Last year's edition of La Classicissima, a rainy stage in the Tour of Britain in September, and a bad-weather stage of the Deutschland-Tour to Winterberg in 2008 are now among the wins on Ciolek's palmarès. It begs the question whether he likes to ride in bad weather …

"I think nobody likes it. Over time it becomes obvious who is well-suited to riding in bad weather, and so far I've always coped pretty well. But that doesn't mean that I like it."

The spring classics

So far MTN Qhubeka has received invitations to the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, Milano-Sanremo, Dwars door Vlaanderen, E3 Harelbeke and Gent-Wevelgem. Last year Ciolek achieved an 11th place in the Omloop, and we wants to do well again in 2014: "I think that these races suit me. We don’t have to talk about winning right away, but racing for a good result in the spring classics is definitely a goal for the next years."

This runs contrary to the picture that many have of Ciolek, considering him a sprinter first and foremost. But the German doesn't see himself that way: "Over the last years it’s become clear that I’m not the guy to win 20 races a year in mass sprints, and that I’m better suited to other races. I know that I have a good turn of speed, but I’m certainly not the same type of rider as Greipel, Kittel or Cavendish."

Ciolek admits that riding for a Professional Continental team can have its drawbacks. MTN Qhubeka won't be at the Giro or the Tour this year, and the team still doesn't know if it will be invited to the Ronde van Vlaanderen or Paris-Roubaix: "As a team, we're happy to just be at a race. At the big classics we always have to hope for a wild card."

But other than that, he prefers to concentrate on selected races: "There are lots of WorldTour races every year, you can’t do well in all of them anyway. I think it’s better to start in fewer races, but concentrate on them 100%. If you do Paris-Nice the one week, then the Basque Country or whatever, riding a 'big' race every week, it’s harder to have highlights."

The next highlight for the 27-year old Ciolek will be the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad next weekend, with Milano-Sanremo and the other spring classics on the horizon. Yesterday's win shows that Ciolek is in good form, and his team mates also appear to be ready.