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Benin Cycling Team at Tour du Benin

Africa Rising — Growth of Cycling in Benin

By Kimberly Coats | May 13, 2022

Journalists, donors, and interested people often ask, “How do you decide which country to help? Why Benin?” It is complicatedly simple. Because of our limited financial and human resources, we only work with Federations, partners, teams, and cyclists who we…

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African man in a white cyclist uniform holding up a bouquet of pink and white flowers

Eritrean Biniam Girmay wows the world on the first stage of the 2022 Giro d’Italia!

By Jeremy Ford | May 9, 2022

It has been an incredible first few days at the 2022 Giro d’Italia and all eyes are on Biniam Girmay, the 22 year old Eritrean, riding for the Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert team. On Friday’s first stage, from Budapest to Visegrád (Hungary), he…

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Tour of Benin

Team Africa Rising Heads to Benin

By Kimberly Coats | April 12, 2022

Team Africa Rising heads to Benin to establish the country’s first online training center and report on Tour de Benin. With Eritrea topping the UCI’s latest Africa rankings and South Africa in close second place, West Africa has woken up…

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

The Day Belonged to Eritrea

By Kimberly Coats | 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…

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

Meet Chantal — A Rising Star in Benin

By Kimberly Coats | 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.…

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

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

By Kimberly Coats | 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…

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BCT

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

By Kimberly Coats | 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…

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Total Energies cyclists next to an African cyclist

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

By Kimberly Coats | 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.

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Team Africa Rising

Natnael Tesfatsion – Champion of Tour of Rwanda 2022!

By Jeremy Ford | February 27, 2022

We are so happy to celebrate with all of Eritrea and Africa to see Natnael on the top step of the podium, in the yellow jersey once more (following his win at this race in 2020 also). ‘Natu’ had a…

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Team Africa Rising

What Drives a Champion…

By Kimberly Coats | 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,…

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