Sergio Pardilla is one of a few seasoned European professionals who have been leading the MTN-Qhubeka in their first season as a pro continental team. The Spanish climber is amazed by the atmosphere on his South African team which is less focused on the sporting aspect and more on its long-term objectives of developing young African cyclists and providing bikes for people in Africa.

Prior to this season, Sergio Pardilla left the well-established professional surroundings at Movistar to become one of the leaders on the South African MTN-Qhubeka team which was the first African team to be granted a pro continental license. While Gerald Ciolek was set to lead the team in the sprints and the classics, Pardilla was the team's captain in stage races and mountainous races.

However, MTN-Qhubeka's and Pardilla's mission is about much more than their results. While wins are of course important, the team is more focussed on its objective of developing African cycling and support the Qhubeka foundation which provides bikes to poor people in Africa whose lives can be dramatically improved by the access to a fast means of transportation. This year Pardilla has been as much an ambassador for those projects as he has been a professional bike rider and he has been happy with his new role.

"This first year in the MTN-Qhubeka has been a wonderful experience," he told A&A Sport. "The team has a different philosophy than the other teams. They are not crazy about points and there is no pressure to get results. Doing well in the races is of course important but they also value the message of Qhubeka and the improvement of young African talents so that the team can contest the Tour with riders from this continent in the future."

In the pre-season, the team gathered in South Africa where they distributed bikes to African inhabitants. The experience put Pardilla's work in perspective.

"I had the feeling that I did something important," he said. "You helped a lot of people thanks to the bikes which saved a lot of time for them. It was an experience we have tried to convey during the rest of the season."

As an experienced professional with 3 grand tours in his legs, Pardilla has played an important role as a mentor for the young African cyclists.

"It is also part of the team's philosophy: exchange as a way to improve," he said. "This is done in African villages and we do it on the bike. My teammates have often helped me in the races and I have tried to teach the youngsters how to compete in Europe and what it means to be a professional. We have come far and although it is difficult to improve the results of this season, I am sure that we will do even better next year."

From a sporting perspective, the team has had a very successful season with 15 wins, Gerald Ciolek's Milan-Sanremo triumph of course being the standout achievement. Pardilla contributed to the tally when he won a big mountain stage in the Volta a Portugal which he led for 4 days before finishing the race in 17th.