HomeInterviewsDouglas Ryder - Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team Boss
We’ve heard it so many times; the team loses the sponsor and folds – ‘we’re taking a year to regroup but will be back the following season,’ they say. Sadly, it very rarely comes to pass. But Douglas Ryder is made of stern stuff.
His Nexthash Qhubeka World Tour team folded at the end of 2021 but the team soldiered on at continental level through last year, riding the Tour of Britain as part of a solid programme.
And the good news is that for 2023 his squadra has moved back up the divisions to ProTeam with the Q36.5 Pro Cycling Team.
We caught up with Douglas recently to hear his story.
“My uncle was into cycling and when I did my military service there was a cycling culture within the forces.
“There were South African pro teams but they weren’t allowed to compete internationally; it was only when Nelson Mandela became president that we could race internationally.
“The ‘92 Olympics in Barcelona were our first participation in the Games. I rode the ‘96 Games in Atlanta.”
What was the cycling scene like in the RSA?
“There was quite a lot of racing, short stage races and the famous Rapport Tour, which was basically a Tour of South Africa and which attracted good names (albeit they weren’t supposed to ride in non-UCI approved races so took on assumed names).
“Sean Kelly and Pat McQuaid famously rode and fell foul of officialdom, losing their chance of competing in the Moscow Olympics.”
Your first team as a pro was, ‘Peaceforce Security’?
“That was a South African team; the company did home security, armed guards that kind of thing.
“The British rider, Keith Reynolds rode with us and we had South African cycling legend, Alain Van Heerden as manager.”
Then you rode for a US team?
“Yes, Plymouth.
“That came about when I met Malcolm Elliott and Simeon Hempsall at a race in Cape Town; they were riding in the US for LA Sheriffs at that time and they got me the introductions.
“I was on the team with your Scottish compatriot, Brian Smith and rode the Tour Dupont with Plymouth.”
Then back to South Africa with IBM-Lotus and Microsoft?
“A lot of US teams folded after the ’96 Olympics, the Games were the pinnacle and there was a hiatus after that.
“I was working with Lotus Computers back in the RSA and we started a team, I got into management of the team and that was the beginning of my journey to taking a South African team to the Tour de France in 2015.
“I decided back then in the 1990’s that I wanted to start a team which showcased African talent – and here we are, still going!”
How did the Qhubeka connection come about?
“I met a guy called Anthony Fitzhenry during my time in IT, his dream was that every school in Africa should have computer access but what he realised was that the main inhibiting factor in most of Africa was the lack of mobility, so he went from being an ‘IT guy’ to a ‘bike guy’, founding Qhubeka.”
“We work together and so far 105,000 bicycles have been donated to schoolchildren and key workers across the Republic of South Africa and the southern African continent.”
You’ve ‘bounced back’ from going WorldTour down to Continental then back up to ProTeam – no easy trick to pull off.
“It’s been a tough time, it’s hard when you can’t raise funds not just for your riders but your staff too…
“But here we are – and our journey’s not done yet.
“I’ve been fortunate in meeting certain people…”
Tell us about Q36.5.
“The Q stands for Quaerere – ‘research’ in Latin, and 36.5° in centigrade is the temperature of a healthy body.
“The company was launched in summer 2013 by Luigi Bergamo and his wife Sabrina Bergamo Emmasi, who combined have over 40 years of experience working in high performance cycling apparel.
“We came together with them and have the same agenda; caring about the environment and having a mission of ‘Racing the Future’, that is, allowing the team to function as a research laboratory and vehicle for change.
“We’re aiming to redefine the future of the sport and its impact on the world.
“Other sponsors of ours, like Mercedes, have remained loyal to us and we have a top line bike sponsor on board in Scott.”
‘The Shark’ as technical advisor and Q36.5 brand ambassador?
“Vincenzo Nibali is an amazing guy, he’s one of a very select few to have won every Grand Tour but he’s also won Monuments; Milan-Sanremo and il Lombardia.
“The team has a strong Italian connection, our continental team with our African riders is based in Lucca; Vincenzo wants to keep involved in the sport and finds our team to be an interesting project.
“His input on training to our young riders will be invaluable.”
Will there still be a Qhubeka connection?
“There always will be as long as I’m breathing!
“After this interview I head off to Cape Town in my role as a Qhubeka ambassador, helping to raise awareness and funds for the organisation.”
Tell us about your team roster for this year.
“We’ve signed a lot of good guys; riders like Jack Bauer, Gianluca Brambilla, Tom Devriendt – who was fourth in Paris-Roubaix this season – Joey Rosscopf…
“And we have good young riders who are on the way up.
“The culture of the team is more than just to ‘look good in Lycra;’ Gianluca Brambila said to me that he’s always wanted to be part of the team because it’s more than just about results.”
“I tend to keep my private life quiet but I turned 51 years-old 26th November, I’ve been married for 23 years and have three children, an 18 years-old boy and twin girls who are 16 years-old.
“I live in the Netherlands to be close to the team but still have my links with South Africa where I have two brothers.
“I don’t have a lot of time at home, I’m on the road a lot of the time – building the new team was a big commitment.
“To switch off I like to read; adventure, court room dramas and autobiographies – when I have time…”
We look forward to seeing the African team back in the thick of it throughout this season.
Ed's been involved in cycling for over 50 years. In that time he's been a successful time triallist, a team manager and a sponsor of several teams and clubs. He's also a respected and successful coach and during the winter months was often working in the cabins at the Six Days for some of the world's top riders. Ed remains a massive fan of the sport and couples his extensive contacts with an inexhaustible enthusiasm for the minutiae and the history of our sport.
In February 2023 however, our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed suffered a devastating stroke and faces an uncertain future; Ed has lost his ability to speak, to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He's working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation, but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time. Ed ran his own business installing windows, and will probably not be able to work again. Please consider joining us to make a contribution to Ed's GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure his future.
It's a long way from Copenhagen to Sanremo. Last autumn we saw Saxo Bank's Michael Mørkøv ride the classic 'sit in and sprint' race in the Copenhagen Worlds netting 18th and best home rider among the absolute cream of world cycling.
Steve Cummings, he’s the real deal. Dues fully paid at low budget Landbouwkrediet and Barloworld, he’s also ridden with some of the biggest teams in the sport; Discovery, Sky and BMC - before finding what is the ideal squad for him, Dimension Data where letting him ‘do his own thing’ has paid off for both parties in spades.
I wish I'd tried it; pals Dave, Ivan, Viktor, and our Editor Martin all did - save up your dough over the winter, take the ferry, doss in the cold little room in Gent. The ride out in the rain to the kermis, change in someone's parlour, the inevitable punctures and kickings, the phone call home from a payphone on Sunday night...
One of the biggest professional kermises in Flanders is the Gullegem Koerse, first held in 1942 when Belgian legend Marcel Kindt claimed victory. Since then it’s been won by many of the hardest kermis riders in the game – Willy Tierlinck, Wilfried Nelissen, Nico Eeckhout, Gert Omloop to name a few. Not to mention some of the best roadmen of their eras; including Nico Mattan, Peter Van Petegem and Philippe Gilbert. And for this year’s edition we can boast of a Scottish winner in Andy Fenn – well, his mum is Scottish and he rode the Commonwealth Games for us in Delhi.
I know, I had a ‘pop’ at ‘Everesting’ in a recent rant but when AN Post Flatlands veteran, Ronan McLaughlin contacts me to tell me he’s just broken the Irish record with 8 hour 09 minutes, the fifth best time in history behind Bert Contador’s 7:27, I have to pay attention…
The last time we spoke to Dan Gardner he’d just ridden the 2015 Worlds TTT in Virginia as part of the American Astellas team. This season saw him back with Astellas for the first part of the season before a mid-season move to the Heartland – Flanders – and a ride with the Baguet Bicycle Center Cycling Academy. The man behind the team, Serge Baguet is a Belgian ex-professional who rode for Lotto and QuickStep and can count a Belgian Elite Road Championship and Tour de France stage among his palmarès.
No Steve Cummings – saving it for the road race or just no form? - it looked like a shoot-out then between Dauphine winner, Geraint Thomas and chrono specialist Alex Dowsett (Katusha) for the British Time Trial Championships 2018. The sun was out, our spot on the hill was perfect, the marshal was sound with not a trace of Janitordom and Dave’s cheese and ham pieces were of exceptional quality. And Britain’s best bike riders were set to scoot past us. Not much more a man can want in life.
GB riders in the Men’s Elite TTT? Alex Dowsett for Movistar with a nice ride for bronze, Team Sky had Luke Rowe and Ian Stannard – when do those boys get a rest? And that’s our whack, right? Wrong. Check out rider number 243, licence holder GBR 19960306, Dan Gardner, Great Britain, Astellas Cycling Team, USA.
We humbly ask for your help to support our dear friend and beloved colleague Ed Hood. Ed suffered a devastating stroke in February last year and faces an uncertain future.
As a result of the stroke, Ed has lost his ability to speak, and to read, and has lost movement on the right side of his body. He’s working with speech and physical therapists on rehabilitation but all strokes are different and each patient responds differently, so unfortunately recovery is one day at a time.
Ed ran his own business installing windows but will not be able to work again and his financial future is uncertain, so please consider joining us to make a contribution to the GoFundMe page to help stabilise and secure Ed's future. Thank you.
