Daniel Teklehaimanot has had a slow start to is career with MTN-Qhubeka but today he proved why he was once regarded as one of the biggest African talents. The Eritrean finished 3rd in the hard final stage of the Tour de Luxembourg as only race leader Matti Breschel could beat him in the steep uphill sprint for second.

The final stage of the Tour of Luxembourg saw Andre Greipel (Lotto Belisol) pick up his 2nd win of the week, strangely enough though, the German's win came as he crossed the line alone after forming part of the stages early breakaway. Matti Breschel (Tinkoff Saxo) would cross the line 14″ later in 2nd, ensuring he held on to the leaders yellow jersey to win the race overall. After 4 days of constant attacking, Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung were also finally rewarded with a nice result as Daniel Teklehaimanot took the final podium spot on the stage.

While Teklehaimanot could claim the accolades after the stage, Jacques Janse van Rensburg was the Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung rider who would set the platform for the rest of the team. When the early attacks of the stage began Janse van Rensburg made sure he followed the right wheels to place himself in the 9 man break that dominated the days proceedings. With 10km’s to go, the break was down to just 4 riders as Greipel, Janse van Rensburg, Laurens De Vreese (Wanty Groupe Gobert) and Greg Henderson (Lotto Belisol) proved to be the strongest riders from the original break.

Lotto Belisol played their cards well though, first attacking with Henderson while Greipel sat on and then once Henderson was caught Greipel launched the winning move. The chasing group were just not able to reel in the German champion over the final lap of the finishing circuit despite a number of attacks and counter attacks coming from the chase.

In taking 3rd place on the final stage, Daniel Teklehaimanot moved up 2 spots on the GC to finally finish the race 11th overall. This result will serve as good motivation for the Eritrean rider as he will form part of the squad that takes on the World Tour Tour du Suisse stage race next week.

"It was a very quick start to the stage today," Directeur Sportif Michel Cornelisse said. "A group of 9 riders went away and we had Jacques in that move. The group never got more than 4 minutes with the 2 Lotto Belisol riders present. Jacques rode a great race, particularly in the final few kilometers but with 8km to go Greipel put in one good attack just before Jacques was caught.

"The uphill sprint to the line suited Daniel and he went from as long way back. He managed to get 3rd on the stage and was also able to jump up a few places on the General Classification."

"It was another good day for me and the team," Van Rensburg said. "I was glad to have made the move again with some big name guys this time and I felt strong throughout the stage. It was another close finish but it was also a good way to set up the team for the finish, so in the end it all worked out well."