Deloitte to Become a Gold Sponsor of Africa's Cycling Team

NEW YORK and JOHANNESBURG, Sept. 28, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Cycling is about passion, commitment, and teamwork.  It's about having the confidence to take on challenges. And it is about knowing that there are people around to rely on.  Put all that together and it's easy to see why Deloitte Consulting LLP has become a key sponsor of Ryder Cycling.  Ryder Cycling owns and manages the current Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung team soon to be called Team Dimension Data in 2016, Africa's only UCI Professional Continental Cycling Team.

The team made history this year as the first African registered cycling team to compete in the Tour de France. The team's tremendous successes in the race included:

• Wearing the prestigious King of the Mountain jersey for four days on the shoulders of Eritrean rider, Daniel Teklehaimanot – the first African rider to do so
• Stephen Cummings winning the 14^th stage on Mandela Day
• Team finishing in fifth place overall in the Team competition
• Raising over 4,000 bicycles in their #BicyclesChangeLives campaign

Douglas Ryder, Team Principal said, "We are incredibly excited to have Deloitte become one of our main sponsors.  Deloitte's mission is to help their clients excel and has a purpose to make an impact that matters. This is a perfect match for our team as we continue to ride to promote and develop cycling on the African continent and to support our #BicyclesChangeLives campaign through the Qhubeka charity. The technology collaboration between Deloitte and Dimension Data will help our team excel by becoming more connected and operationally efficient as we strive to be the best that we can be in the next phase of this team's incredible journey."

"Deloitte is extremely proud to become a key sponsor of Africa's leading cycling team, which will be known as Team Dimension Data from 2016 onwards," said Jim Moffatt, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Deloitte Consulting LLP. "The team strives for operational and professional excellence. Be the best. Innovate to train harder. Push the limits and set new goals. All the while, they have an equally important underlying goal to make an impact in their community. The example they set, on and off the bike, is strong and admirable for everyone to follow. Best of all, Deloitte and the team share a common vision -- striving for professional excellence, while making a social impact."

In rural regions of Africa, many students face the challenge of having to travel significant distances when trying to get to school. Of the eleven million students who walk to school in South Africa, half a million students walk more than one hour each way. Along with the many other challenges these students face, distance is a barrier that can be eliminated with the simple solution of a bicycle.  Through #BicyclesChangeLives, the Team is providing bicycles to students, giving them the tools to access education and to make their own path in life.

About Deloitte
Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including 80 percent of the Fortune 500. Our people work across more than 20 industry sectors to deliver measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to make their most challenging business decisions with confidence, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthy society.

As used in this document, "Deloitte" means Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of the legal structure of Deloitte LLP and its subsidiaries. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.

About Ryder Cycling

Ryder Cycling founded Team MTN-Qhubeka in 2007, steadily working its way up from a regional team to now being a Continental Pro team with bases in South Africa and Italy. The team rides for a purpose to assist in developing cycling on the African continent with the goal to give talented African riders a path into the pro peloton while raising funds for the Qhubeka Charity. In 2015, Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung created a campaign to help them mobilise 5,000 kids on bicycles. To contribute to the #BicyclesChangeLives Campaign, click here.

Qhubeka is an Nguni word that means "to progress," "to move forward." Qhubeka (qhubeka.org) is World Bicycle Relief's program in South Africa. World Bicycle Relief (worldbicyclerelief.org) is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing education, health and economic opportunities by providing simple, sustainable transportation. Since World Bicycle Relief's founding in 2005, it has delivered more than 220,000 specially designed, locally assembled bicycles to people in need. To contribute to the #BicyclesChangeLives Campaign, click here. 

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SOURCE Deloitte

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