Eritrean pair making history on Tour debut

UTRECHT, Netherlands: A year after Ji Cheng captivated Tour de France fans it is the turn for Merhawi Kudus and Daniel Teklehaimanot to take their own place in the history books.
Eritreans Kudus and Teklehaimanot are the first black Africans to take part in the world’s most prestigious bike race, just as Ji — who earnt the nickname of the breakaway killer — was the first Chinese rider in 2014.
But while overcoming athletic obstacles in order to reach the elite level is a daunting enough challenge, the two Eritreans have also had to get past some stringent red tape in their home country.
The pair needed the backing of Eritrea president Isaias Afwerki just to be allowed to leave their country and compete — Eritrea has previously pulled out of certain sporting events for fear of their athletes defecting to other countries, as has twice happened with its football team.
Afwerki, though, echoed the general feeling of pride in Eritrea at the participation of their two riders at the Grand Boucle.
“The unprecedented achievement of the cyclists attests to the high technical level that cycling has reached in the country,” Isaias said, according to state media.
Teklehaimanot confirmed on his arrival in Utrecht for the Grand Depart that the government and the whole country are behind him and Kudus.
“Of course I have much support from home; big, big support from all the government and the people,” said the 26-year-old, who was due to get the whole Tour rolling on Saturday afternoon as he was set to start first in the opening stage 13.8km individual timetrial.
“Last week I was at home for the nationals and all the people were saying good luck for the next weeks.”
When it comes to the race itself, although both handy climbers, Teklehaimanot and Kudus will largely operate in a support role for their more illustrious MTN Qhubeka teammates. They will also aim to get in breakaways to give themselves a chance of a stage win.