Kimberly Coats

Group of men trying to take a selfie with an African cyclist in a yellow-and-white uniform

The Day Belonged to Eritrea

March 28, 2022

Biniam Girmay, the rider from Eritrea, racing with Intermarche, once again makes history by winning the spring classic, Gent-Wevelgem. Words cannot begin to articulate the joy and elation we all feel. So, we will let the photos and video express…

Read More
African woman with her hair pulled up wearing a light blue jersey uniform

Meet Chantal — A Rising Star in Benin

March 23, 2022

My name is Chantal Vidognonlonhoue. I am 26 years old. I am from a family of 14 children and cycling is my passion. My first race was in Aplahoue with an “ordinary” bike, and it was only 10 km long.…

Read More
Mike in a yellow-and-light blue cycling uniform looking at a mountain range

In Memoriam: Michael Spicer, Board President of Team Africa Rising.

March 10, 2022

Today we are in sorrow. We have lost several good friends of our organization in recent months but today we mourn our President, Michael ‘Mike’ Spicer who has sadly passed away, aged 69. We first met Mike via our friend…

Read More
BCT

Celebrating International Women’s Day with Innocente Uwamahoro — Leading Bugesera Women’s Cycling Team

March 8, 2022

Team Africa Rising talked to Innocente Uwamahoro, the Team Director of Bugeseara Cycling Team (BCT) about her unique role as one of the few women directors in the sport of cycling in Rwanda. BCT launched in 2019 and is the…

Read More
Total Energies cyclists next to an African cyclist

Tour of Rwanda, Stage 8: A Pyrrhic Victory for African Cycling?

March 3, 2022

Rwanda needed a win. A Rwandan cyclist has not won a Stage in the Tour of Rwanda since becoming a 2.1 race in 2020. Samuel Mugisha last wore yellow for Rwanda in the Tour of Rwanda in 2019, the last 2.2 classification race. Even that victory was tainted by rumors of the Rwandan teams all working for Samuel – National and Club teams effectively giving Samuel the advantage with more teammates to keep him in yellow.

Read More
Team Africa Rising

What Drives a Champion…

February 21, 2022

“I am Reinardt Janse van Rensburg. I have been racing as a professional cyclist in Europe for the past nine years. I have travelled the world and done all the biggest races such as the Ronde van Vlaanderen seven times,…

Read More
Team Africa Rising

Cycling Infrastructure in Africa: Successes and Barriers

February 4, 2022

Benin, a West African country of about 12 million people, currently sits 18th in the UCI African Nations ranking in cycling, followed only by Sudan; nineteen nations with points out of 54 nations on the African continent. Those numbers taken at…

Read More
Team Africa Rising

Barriers to Entry — Equipment

January 18, 2022

Our previous post outlined the barriers to entry in cycling on the African continent for cyclists like Henok Mulubrhan and thousands of others. Based on the years spent living in Rwanda and working throughout the continent, it is our opinion…

Read More
Team Africa Rising

Why are there not more Africans, or POC in the professional cycling ranks?

January 10, 2022

It all started at the end of last week with a tweet about Henok Mulubrahan and why he didn’t have a team for the 2022 season. Henok is a promising Eritrean cyclist who spent the last two seasons racing for…

Read More
Team Africa Rising

Fatima Deborah Conteh – A Sierra Leonean Cyclist aiming for the top…

December 16, 2021

Her friends in the cycling community know Fatima Deborah Conteh as Debby. She is from Makeni, about 190kms east of Freetown, Sierra Leone. Looking at her social media, you know she loves selfies and cycling. She is strong, self-confident, and…

Read More