He has already made Tour de France history as one of the first African-registered team ever to take part in the event — and now Daniel Teklehaimanot has pedaled past another major milestone.

On Thursday, Teklehaimanot became the first African to don the polka-dot jersey awarded to the race’s leading climber, his team said.

The 26-year-old MTN-Qhubeka rider gave the thumbs-up after earning a third point in the King of the Mountains classification to take the jersey from Joaquim Rodriguez, who dropped a point behind him.

Colleagues on the Eritrean’s team were quick to voice their congratulations on Twitter, writing: “Lost for words right now… Battling to see what’s going on through the tears. Dream come true to have the polka-dot jersey!”

Teklehaimanot’s achievement came when a sprint ride at the Cote du Tilleul saw him cross in first place on the final category four climb of the day.

“I’m really happy about what happened today. I can’t believe it,” he told the official Tour de France website.

“That was my childhood dream, to get the polka dot jersey at the Tour de France. I was excited about having it just for one day.

“After I scored two points, I was nervous that I wouldn’t take one more, otherwise I would be left with nothing.”

Read more at CNN.

*********