Tour de France picks African team among 2015 wild cards

PARIS (AP) MTN-Qhubeka will become the first African team to compete in the Tour de France after race organizers selected the South African outfit among the wild cards invited to take part this year.

In addition to the 17 UCI World Tour squads already qualified, Tour organizers announced on Wednesday that German team Bora-Argon 18 as well as French squads Cofidis, Europcar and Bretagne-Seche Environnement will also be on the starting line on July 4 in the Dutch City of Utrecht.

Founded in 2007, MTN-Qhubeka is competing on the UCI continental circuit. It has recently added international stars Edvald Boasson Hagen, Matthew Goss and Tyler Farrar to its squad, 60 percent of which is made up of African riders.