For Songezo Jim, the Vuelta a Espana will always hold a special place in his heart. The 2015 edition was his debut Grand Tour. It was also a record, as he became the first black South African to ride a Grand Tour. He finished he race well, and MTN-Qhubeka offered him a contract extension.

"I was really happy with my performance," he told Cyclingnews at the team's Cape Town training camp last month. "It was my first Grand Tour so it was a new experience for me. I had to play my cards really wisely in order for me to have a good race. I've been in the team for four years now and I feel like I've been getting stronger every single year. The support that the team pushes me to improve and get better all the time. I live in Italy in Lucca now. There are times when you want to just go and chill with your friends and be with the family but it is the commitment of wanting to become more professional and getting better."

Jim has ridden with the team from Continental level through to their first year in the WorldTour in 2016. He says this is the strongest roster the team has ever had.

"We have a really strong team for next year. We want to win races and, of course, we have Cavendish, who is one of the fastest guys in the world, but we will take some chances also. We've got some very good young, up and coming guys. We will get our chances to shine too," he said.

Jim says that he wants to help the team win races as well as developing himself as a rider, which will hopefully lead to a Grand Tour stage win somewhere in the future.

"For me, my dream for the future is to ride the Tour de France one day. The Tour de France is the biggest bike race in the world and I would like to win a stage in any of the Grand Tours."