The fight to remain a professional: thirteen Qhubeka-NextHash riders without a 2022 team

Two riders have already announced their retirement and more could follow

Qhubeka-NExtHash
(Image credit: Getty)

Thirteen Qhubeka-NextHash riders remain without a confirmed team for the 2022 season, after the UCI confirmed that their application for a WorldTour licence has been rejected.

The South African-registered team, whose origins began back in 2008 as MTN Energade, have been troubled by financial difficulties for a number of years, and it now looks unlikely that team principal Doug Ryder will find the additional funding he needs to run the team next season.

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Chris Marshall-Bell

A freelance sports journalist and podcaster, you'll mostly find Chris's byline attached to news scoops, profile interviews and long reads across a variety of different publications. He has been writing regularly for Cycling Weekly since 2013. In 2024 he released a seven-part podcast documentary, Ghost in the Machine, about motor doping in cycling.

Previously a ski, hiking and cycling guide in the Canadian Rockies and Spanish Pyrenees, he almost certainly holds the record for the most number of interviews conducted from snowy mountains. He lives in Valencia, Spain.