TAR Blog Post

Oliver Working at Edge Cycling

The Kid Who Hid and Thrives Today — Rwandan Oliver Tugirimana

November 10, 2022

“What are you doing under that table?” Jock asked the young, visibly afraid Rwandan adolescent. It was 2014, and Team Africa Rising had just moved into the abandoned compound on the road to Kinigi in the northern area of Musanze.…

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Dear Eritrean Fans

September 26, 2022

This is a reproduction of a piece published by Isabel Fernandes on Facebook on 26 September 2022. Ms. Fernandes’s knowledge and experience in the world of cycling as a UCI Commissaire are legendary. She began her career as a Commissaire…

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Ray Lewis and Adrien Niyonshuti: Two Iconic Athletes Meet at the Maryland Cycling Classic

September 15, 2022

Over Labor Day Weekend, Adrien Niyonshuti, a two-time Olympian and original member of Team Rwanda Cycling, attended the Maryland Cycling Classic. Adrien was selected as an Ambassador for the event and the sport. The Maryland Cycling Classic is the only UCI.Pro race in…

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Three people riding their bikes

The Absence of Black African Cyclists at the Tour de France

July 19, 2022

There are no Black African cyclists in this year’s Tour de France.  Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Louis Meintjes, both South Africans and accomplished multi-year participants, are the only cyclists from the African continent. Is this an indication of a…

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A biker stands

Adrien Niyonshuti Rides Alpe d’Huez

July 14, 2022

Adrien Niyonshuti raced professionally from 2008 – 2017, with a South African based team MTN Qhubeka, later Team Dimension Data. He is, to date, the only Rwandan cyclist to race at the world tour level. He was never afforded the…

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Benin Cycling Team at Tour du Benin

Africa Rising — Growth of Cycling in Benin

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!

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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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…

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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.

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Team Africa Rising

Natnael Tesfatsion – Champion of Tour of Rwanda 2022!

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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