During the course of this week MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will be taking part in a series of UCI 1.1 events that take place in Italy. 

The first event will be the Coppa Agostoni on Wednesday 16 September. The Coppa Agostoni is a 198km event from Monza to Lissone which would typically suit a puncheur. The three tough climbs that come in the final 70km of the race provide for the perfect attacking opportunity before the gradual descent into Lissone.

On Thursday 17 September the African team will start the Coppa Bernocchi. This event which starts and finishes in Legnano has proven to be one for the sprinters but the route is one where the climbing opportunists have their chance too. An undulating 16km circuit is completed 7 times before the flat 40km run back to Legnano.

The last two events take place on Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th being the Memorial Marco Pantani and the GP Industria & Commercio de Prato. Once again the punchy sprinters will fancy their chances at both events which similarly take in a few short sharp climbs over the course of their 200km routes.

MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will be using a squad of 10 riders during the course of the week to represent the African team. The race line-ups are as follows:

Coppa Agostoni: Nic Dougall, Matt Goss, Jayde Julius, Merhawi Kudus, Adrien Niyonshuti, Serge Pauwels, Daniel Teklehaimanot

Coppa Bernocchi: Nic Dougall, Matt Goss, Jayde Julius, Kristian Sbaragli, Adrien Niyonshuti, Serge Pauwels, Daniel Teklehaimanot

Memorial Pantani: Natnael Berhane Nic Dougall, Jayde Julius, Kristian Sbaragli, Adrien Niyonshuti, Serge Pauwels, Daniel Teklehaimanot, Johann van Zyl

GP Industria: Natnael Berhane Nic Dougall, Matt Goss, Kristian Sbaragli, Serge Pauwels, Daniel Teklehaimanot, Johann van Zyl, Jaco Venter