Team Dimension Data represented a major milestone for professional cycling, when in 2016 the South Africa-based team, then named MTN-Qhubeka became the first team based on the African continent to compete in the Tour de France. The team has also been at the center of other milestones for African cycling when in 2012 it was announced that the team would receive a Pro Continental lincence, then subsequently earning a WorldTour licence in 2016, making it the first African team to receive such licensing at either level.
Dimension Data, a South African information technology company, became the title sponsor for the team in 2016 and also is the official technology partner of the Tour de France. The teams official name is Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, reflecting the teams support for the Qhubeka Foundation, which is a South African non-profit organization which donates bikes to South African children.
The Dimension Data team have ridden Cervelo bikes since 2015, and are outfitted by American sports and lifestyle company Oakley. The team wears white, black, and green jerseys with black bibs.
The team's first Tour de France stage win came on a most fitting day, when Steve Cummings broke away on the 14th stage and captured victory on Mandela Day, and annual day of honor for the late South African political leader and revolutionary Nelson Mandela. Eritrean rider Daniel Teklehaimanot also made headlines at last year's Tour de France after holding the polka dot jersey for the mountains classification for four day, becoming the first African rider in Tour de France history to achieve this feat.
Manxman Mark Cavendish was the team's biggest acquisition at the start of the 2016 season. Cavendish is one of the most decorated and globally recognizable riders in the professional peloton today, and has been integral to Team Dimension Data's history on the WorldTour. Cavendish held both the Maillot Jaune and the green points classification jersey during the 2016 Tour de France, and captured a total of four stage wins as well. Cavendish has also won the points classification three times at a Grand Tour, which includes the 2010 Vuelta a Espana, 2011 Tour de France, and 2013 Giro d'Italia.
Norwegian rider Edvald Boasson Hagen will likely be Team Dimension Data's best shot to finish on the podium at the 2017 editions of the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana. While Boasson Hagen is primarily a sprinter known for prevailing in the points classification of tour races, he has shown his ability to capture general classification titles as well. In 2017 already, Boassen Hagen has won both the general classification and points classification titles at the Tour des Fjords and the Tour of Norway, as well as recently becoming the Norwegian National Time Trial champion.
Team Dimension Data's 2017 Tour de France squad will include Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg, Jaco Venter, Mark Cavendish, Serge Pauwels, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Steve Cummings, Bernhard Eisel, Mark Renshaw, and Scott Thwaites.
The complete 2017 list of riders for Team Dimension Data includes:
Riders
| ANTON HERNANDEZ Igor | 02.03.1983 | ESP | |
| BERHANE Natnael | 05.01.1991 | ERI | |
| CAVENDISH Mark | 21.05.1985 | GBR | |
| CUMMINGS Stephen | 19.03.1981 | GBR | |
| DOUGALL Nicolas | 21.11.1992 | RSA | |
| EISEL Bernhard | 17.02.1981 | AUT | |
| FARRAR Tyler | 02.06.1984 | USA | |
| FRAILE MATARRANZ Omar | 17.07.1990 | ESP | |
| GIBBONS Ryan | 13.08.1994 | RSA | |
| HAAS Nathan | 12.03.1989 | AUS | |
| HAGEN Edvald Boasson | 17.05.1987 | NOR | |
| JANSE VAN RENSBURG Jacques Willem | 06.09.1987 | RSA | |
| JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt | 03.02.1989 | RSA | |
| KING Benjamin | 22.03.1989 | USA | |
| KUDUS GHEBREMEDHIN Merhawi | 23.01.1994 | ERI | |
| MORTON Lachlan | 02.01.1992 | AUS | |
| NIYONSHUTI Adrien | 02.01.1987 | RWA | |
| PAUWELS Serge | 21.11.1983 | BEL | |
| REGUIGUI Youcef | 09.01.1990 | ALG | |
| RENSHAW Mark | 22.10.1982 | AUS | |
| SBARAGLI Kristian | 08.05.1990 | ITA | |
| TEKLEHAIMANOT Daniel | 10.11.1988 | ERI | |
| THOMSON Jay Robert | 12.04.1986 | RSA | |
| THWAITES Scott | 12.02.1990 | GBR | |
| VAN ZYL Johann | 02.02.1991 | RSA | |
| VENTER Jaco | 13.02.1987 | RSA |
Neo-Pros
| DEBESAY Mekseb | 16.06.1991 | ERI | |
| O'CONNOR Ben | 25.11.1995 | AUS |
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