by Kimberly Coats | Sep 27, 2020

We caught up Eyeru before her appearance this week at the 2020 UCI World Championships in Imola, Italy. We asked her a few questions….thanks Eyeru!

It’s good to see you representing your country at the World Champs in Imola. What are your dreams for the road race?

I am honored that I could represent my country at the world champs #imola2020 even in these difficult times. The road race course has a really steep climb and technical descent with strong winds so the race is going to be harder, so I am looking forward to pushing my limits and give my % for my dreams. in this race, I aimed to finish with the peloton as much as I can!

This is a difficult event this year with so many travel restrictions so there are not many African riders present. How do you feel African cycling is doing right now and what more do you think could be done?

With this weird year many African riders are not racing at the world champs and other races, mainly because of travel restrictions/visas which is hard to get but not impossible, and totally worth it. For this I feel so sad it would be cool if more African riders could race, but at least some riders from Africa can get the opportunity to race. We will do our best to make proud our country and inspire other African riders. At this moment there is no racing in Africa, especially in Ethiopia, it can affect motivation, and for this, I’m a little bit scared about the future of African cycling as we were already creating future stars. For African cycling to get better we need more opportunities and invest in experience because is important to be a good rider. Hopefully, this weird time passes soon and everyone is able to be back racing.

There was a big focus on diversity on the last stage of the Tour de France last week with only one black rider in the race. What are your thoughts on diversity in professional cycling and what more do you think should be done to improve this?

I think there’s heaps of room for improvement for diversity in professional cycling and sports in general.  This can be done by showing role models from different countries. Equal opportunity for all ethnicities, you don’t see many big teams with African riders, especially in the women peloton.Update: Eyeru finished 88th out of 140 in the Women’s Road Race and 48th in the ITT