MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will take to the start of the Garmin Velothon Berlin single day UCI 1.1 race later today. The 174km event is one that usually suits the sprinters and MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung will have a sprint specific team at the start line.

With only 6 rider teams, it will be hard for a single team to control proceedings for the entire duration of the event. There will be a number of key sprinters from different teams hoping to take the spoils today though and so a combined effort should see the race come back together on the final 8 finishing circuits around Berlin.

Lining up for THE African team will be Gerald Ciolek, Andreas Stuaff, Matt Goss, Youcef Reguigui, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Adrien Niyonshuti. Ciolek and Stauff will be hoping to go well racing back in their home country while van Rensburg showed the good sprinting form he is in at the recent Bayern Rundfahrt.

"It should be a good race but with small teams it will be a hard race. I have never done the event before but I have heard that there can be nice crowds when we get to the circuits,so I am motivated to help show our teams colours at the front of the race. We have good riders starting so we can get a good result," Reguigui said.