Two Eritrean cyclists will be the first from their country to compete in the Tour de France after being picked by the MTN-Qhubeka team.
The South Africa-based team, the first from Africa to gain a Tour place, selected the 21-year-old climbers Merhawi Kudus and Daniel Teklehaimanot in their final nine-man group on Tuesday.
Five of the nine are from Africa; the other three are South Africans – Jacques Janse van Rensburg, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Louis Meintjes.
MTN-Qhubeka will also have the American sprinter Tyler Farrar, the Norwegian Edvald Boasson Hagen, Britain’s Steve Cummings, and the Belgian Serge Pauwels.
MTN-Qhubeka was given a wild-card entry for the Tour.