Africa Rising Cycling Podcast

Africa Rising Cycling

Africa Rising Cycling is a non-profit which has been operating across the continent for 20 years. After the first World Champs on African soil in Sep 2025 and over 140 African men and women racing internationally, 2026 is going to be a big year. We will bring you all the big stories as they happen, talk to the big and rising star names, and share the stories that matter about African cycling! To get more info, visit us at: https://teamafricarising.org/

  1. Its National Champs time! Our review of all the action

    5d ago

    Its National Champs time! Our review of all the action

    Per UCI rule 1.2.029: "National road championships shall be organised during the last full week of the month of June" and over the last few days, we have seen 12 African nations organise their National road championships, including Eritrea, Algeria, Mauritius alongside relatively new countries like Kenya and Eswatini. South Africa and Namibia held theirs in February. On the podcast today, we talk through: - The vital nature of National Championships in terms of riders experiencing a UCI-sanctioned race, still rare for a lot of young African riders; - A deep-dive into the results of the top African nations; - The breaking news that it seems that Rwanda did not register their National Championships with the UCI, and Kim's experience with this situation in Benin in 2021; and - How several nations, including Cote d'Ivoire (the nation of current UCI Confederation of African Cycling President) did not register their National championships with the UCI at all. We have a comprehensive database of all UCI-sanctioned race results across Africa on our website. We are also very happy that several of the riders who won either ITT or Road Race titles feature in our recently published 'Top Ten Next Gen' article for Rouleur Magazine. Check it out!

    31 min
  2. Operating in the heart of the DRC - Meet Goma Cycling Club

    Jun 25

    Operating in the heart of the DRC - Meet Goma Cycling Club

    Over a decade ago in the DRC, Charles-Guy Makongo already had his hands full helping the country's most vulnerable people access justice and avoid violence in his day job working there as Country Director for the American Bar Association. However, in his free time, after meeting them when out for a bike ride, he took some 30 teenage cyclists under his wing and created the Goma Cycling Club. Fast forward ten years, and one of the club's young talents Joel Kyaviro stood on the podium as a stage winner at the 2026 Tour of Cameroon - the DRC's first ever UCI race win! Listen to Guy as he talks passionately about building a safe and positive environment for these young people; how an article in The Guardian by Ruth Maclean and Caleb Kabanda got them international attention and donors; and how they continue to foster young talent in a very difficult environment. In early 2025, Africa Rising Cycling partnered with Goma CC and some of its European donors, and supplied new Zwift Hubs and Wahoo HRMs for them to train safely, as riding outside was impossible with a conflict with Rwanda raging all around. The ability to continue training and operating kept Goma CC going through the conflict. We thank our partners Zwift and Wahoo for saving this vital club in the region. Goma CC is always looking for donations, bikes, clothing, bottles, and equipment for their riders. To get in touch with them, contact Guy on: charlesguymakongo@gmail.com Give them a follow on Instagram too. We hope you enjoy this episode, and if you do, please share on your social media!

    29 min
  3. Season 2: Creating a Cycling Culture in Africa: Meet Village Bicycle Project

    Jun 17

    Season 2: Creating a Cycling Culture in Africa: Meet Village Bicycle Project

    As the first episode of our new season, this discussion could not be further from recent podcasts talking about African professional cycling, however, as we will discuss, they are still linked, all through the bicycle. In this episode, we are talking real grass-roots cycling. We are joined by Joshua Poppel, the Executive Director of the Village Bicycle Project (VBP) non-profit. VBP has been operating in Africa for over two decades, aiming to empower communities by strengthening bicycle culture. Their programs couple quality subsidized bicycles with hands-on maintenance training for new owners. They also give village bike mechanics detailed training along with access to specialized bike tools and spare parts. VBP is focused on Sierra Leone and Ghana. We discussed VBP's mission, and their impact to date; the changes Joshua has seen in both countries through the acceptance and passion for cycling across communities; the evolution of cycling as a sport, notably in Sierra Leone through the tireless work of their partner Abdul Karim Kamara (CEO and Founder of Tour De Lunsar and the Lunsar Cycling Team) and the success of the Tour of Lunsar there in getting local people excited about cycling; Joshua's recent participation in the SUFFER event (An Africa Rising Cycling fundraider in the USA) and the launch of a SUFFER Wyoming Gravel event in September (contact info@teamafricarising.org for more info!); and finishing on the need for more cycling-related infrastructure across Africa, with Kimberly highlighting Benin's recent investment in bike lanes in the capital city of Cotonou. Joshua shares at the end how they are always in need of bicycles, bike parts, board members and of course donations. Check out their website for more details on getting involved! Give them a follow on Facebook or Instagram to see updates on their work.

    29 min
  4. Meet Madar Pro Cycling - Africa's #1 Men's UCI Continental Team

    Jun 9

    Meet Madar Pro Cycling - Africa's #1 Men's UCI Continental Team

    This week, we sat down with Dahmane Abdesslam, the Principal of the Madar Pro Cycling Team. Madar are African-owned and registered in Algeria, and have had a nix of Algerian, African and international riders on their roster., since launching as a UCI team just two years ago. Their ProCyclingStats bio can give you more infomation. Algerian star riders like Azzedine Lagab and Youcef Reguigui have been on their roster, and in 2025 they were the #1 African UCI Continental Team, and broke into the Top 50 teams globally. On 5 June 2026, they won the Tour de Maurice, as well as taking the coveted KOM Jersey. Our CEO Kimberly Coats and our Podcast Host Jeremy Ford talked to Dahmane about the team, their strategy, Algerian cycling and women's cycling there. We hope you enjoy!

    23 min
  5. Racing Recap: We take a look at how African riders and races are doing (so far!)

    Jun 2

    Racing Recap: We take a look at how African riders and races are doing (so far!)

    As we enter June, we thought it a good time to do a quick recap on some of the big headlines in African road cycling so far, and some things to watch out for in June: We take a look at the men's and women's UCI league tables for the 2026 season so far. Eritrea dominates the men's rankings taking the 1-5 spots, and kudos to Eritrean Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar) for topping the men's league table, the first time Biniam Girmay has been de-throned in several years!We talk through some of the big moments from the recent UCI 2.2 Tour du BeninWe hear from special guest Michel Mayer, the President of Mauritius Cycling and on the organising committee of the Tour of Mauritius (starting today - 2 June). Start-list on ProCyclingStats here.Some initial insights on the Tour of Cameroon (starts on 3 June) Start-list on ProCyclingStats here.and finally: a quick preview of the dozen or so National Road Cycling Championships taking place in late June. You can see a full list on our website HERE.We hope you enjoy this episode! Let us know feedback in the comments!

    30 min
  6. Truly Africa's Team: The Amazing Work of Team BIKE AID

    May 26

    Truly Africa's Team: The Amazing Work of Team BIKE AID

    In this episode, we sat down with Matthias Schnapka, the owner of Team BIKE AID, one of the most prolific supporters of young African professional cyclists in history. BIKE AID is a German professional cycling team founded in 2005 as a non-profit association, and based on a unique cycling community of over 1,200 supporters. BIKE AID stands for enjoying cycling, nature and social commitment. Matthias has been a long-term supporter of bringing young African talent to the international cycling world, since his visit to the Tour of Togo in 2013. On the podcast, he talks through his journey in creating and building Team BIKE AID; some of the incredible talents he has seen come through like Dawit Yemane, Milkias Maekele and Meron Amanuel; the team's unique #rideforafrica jersey (a part of the sales of which fund development grants for young African riders - in partnership with Africa Rising Cycling); and his thoughts on the latest Eritrean talents he has on the squad for 2026: Yoel Habteab, Even Yemane and Nahom Efriem. We hope you enjoy this conversation with a truly influential and yet very humble man in African cycling development.

    31 min
  7. Merhawi Kudus - A True Pioneer of African Professional Cycling

    May 19

    Merhawi Kudus - A True Pioneer of African Professional Cycling

    We are most excited to share this podcast today! Merhawi "Mera" Kudus is truly one of the pioneers of African professional cycling. After excelling for the UCI World Cycling Center, he joined the MTN Qhubeka Team in 2014 alongside some of the big names in African cycling: Louis Meintjes, Adrien Niyonshuti, Tsgabu Grmay, Daniel Teklehaimanot and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg. The success of these early Eritrean riders laid the foundations for the next generation like Biniam Girmay and Natnael Tesfatsion to build on, and with a third generation of young sensations like Nahom Efriem (BIKE AID) and Milkias Maekele (INEOS Grenadiers) coming through strong again. We talked to Mera about his journey, his inspiration, his different teams, favourite races and moments, and his thoughts for the key areas of focus for young riders. We hope you enjoy this time with one of the true greats of African cycling. Elelelelelelele!

    26 min
  8. Alexandre Mayer - Meet Mauritius' Top Male Rider

    May 12

    Alexandre Mayer - Meet Mauritius' Top Male Rider

    In our latest podcast, we sat down with Alexandre Mayer, the leading male cyclist from the island of Mauritius. The 28-year-old rider is in his second year at the Pro Continental level with the Burgos Burpellet BH team, alongside Merhawi Kudus. Alex took the 'Best African' jersey at the 2.2 Tour du Benin and when we spoke he was next heading to Azerbaijan for the 2.1 Baku Khankendi Cycling Race there (he will be racing stage three there when this podcast is published). He is always remarkably honest and open, and talks passionately about his recent marriage to fellow Mauritian cyclist Lucie de Marigny-Lagesse - who went pro in 2026 with the WCC Team - and how they are sharing their journey together. We hope you enjoy this discussion!

    21 min
See All (28)

About

Africa Rising Cycling is a non-profit which has been operating across the continent for 20 years. After the first World Champs on African soil in Sep 2025 and over 140 African men and women racing internationally, 2026 is going to be a big year. We will bring you all the big stories as they happen, talk to the big and rising star names, and share the stories that matter about African cycling! To get more info, visit us at: https://teamafricarising.org/

Information