The Vuelta a Espana organisation committee announced the 5 wildcards for the 70th edition of the Vuelta a Espana earlier today. Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung were delighted to receive the vote of confidence from the race organisers once again, as they extended an invitation to the African team.

After the debut Grand Tour appearance at last year’s La Vuelta a Espana, it is fantastic for the team to be able to return to the Spanish grand tour this year. The minute the announcement was made, the amazing memories from last years’ experience came flooding back to the MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung camp.

As was proved last year, the Vuelta a Espana is the grand tour which suits the African riders perfectly. The soaring temperatures allowed the riders to come into their own and animate the race on a daily basis. The team look forward to going back to this special and beautiful race, improving on the previous results and further establishing the team as a major player in world cycling.

The 2015 Vuelta a Espana will commence on the 22nd August, starting once again with a team time trial. Riders will tackle 21 stages in total, covering a total distance of 3 374km's before finishing in the Spanish capital of Madrid on September 13th.

"It is absolutely great," Louis Meintjes said. "The Vuelta is one of the races that really suits us African riders quite nicely. The terrain and weather are conditions we are accustomed to. To go back there is great because we will have the experience from last year so we will hope to grow and improve on our results. We also have great depth in our team this year so it is exciting that we have the opportunity to represent Qhubeka at two grand tours this year."
 

"La Vuelta will be a race we will always remember as it was our first grand tour for our African team. To be able to go back this year gives us an incredible opportunity to improve on our performances from a year ago, it gives us the opportunity to give more African riders a chance to race a grand tour and experience one of the most beautiful races in the world," team principal Douglas Rude said.
 

"This team is growing from strength to strength and we are pleased that the organisers of La Vuelta have realised that we are not just about the numbers but more about what we can bring to the party. Last year we started and finished with a full team. This year we have very ambitious plans. We are so looking forward to going back to La Vuelta," general manager Brian Smith said.