On 5 August 2025, the UCI updated their overall rankings following the conclusion of the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. This update happens pretty regularly on their website and we monitor this for interesting trends and developments. We saw something well worth reporting.
The men’s Madar Pro Cycling Team out of Algeria now dominates the Africa Tour ‘Teams’ rankings with 653 UCI points (there are now seven African registered pro teams out there, with Morocco’s Agadir Velo Propulsion and Sidi Ali – Unlock in 2nd and 3rd on 172 and 113 points respectively).
Madar Pro Cycling have a new sponsor for 2025 and a comprehensive racing schedule across Africa and Europe. They are truly the example of how to develop African cycling, with a 50:50 mix of young U23 talent and experienced old heads. On the latter, the evergreen Azzedine Lagab is still winning races at 38-years-old. He was recently described by an ex-Tour de France rider as one of the smoothest and most power-efficient riders they had ever seen. Such a good voice to have on the team bus.
Alongside the 14 Algerian riders, Madar hired two 21yo rising stars of African cycling, South Africa’s Warren Moolman and Emile Van Niekerk, and rumours of more African transfers to come for 2026.
The success of the team is palpable, but it is also driving their nation Algeria forward also. In the latest UCI Africa Tour ‘Nations’ rankings, Algeria just moved to 2nd place, we think for the first time in its history, one point above South Africa. This is the direct correlation of a team with a proper road cycling plan and strategy getting the job done. Chapeau l’Algerie!
To learn more about how its all going, we spoke with Madar’s Directeur Sportif (DS) Abdeslam Dahmane about Madar’s journey so far:
“Madar Pro Cycling Team was founded just about a year ago, with the support of one of the largest companies and Holding in Algeria and Africa: Madar Holding. They believe in us and in our vision a vision that was born to be both Algerian and African, with its own unique identity, culture, and philosophy rooted in our continent.
This team was created for all African riders capable of competing at the highest level, with the goal of sharing a beautiful and powerful image of Algerian and African cycling with the world.”
Abdeslam went on to talk about how proud he and Madar’s Management team are of the results and performance so far in 2025. With Madar now boasting 653 UCI points in the latest rankings, this actually puts the team at #44 in the world, only two spaces behind the well-established Team BIKE AID, another long-term supporter of African pro cycling.
Two riders driving their points haul are Algeria’s Yacine Hamza and South Africa’s Emile van Niekerk. Yacine’s successes in 2025 have now moved him personally to the #3 slot in the UCI Africa Tour ‘Individuals’ rankings, with Emile also in the top ten at #9. Six of their colleagues also feature in the top 25 African riders, illustrating the team’s strength in depth, with eight on the squad being U23 riders.
We asked Abdeslam about the challenges and strategy for the team in the coming months:”
“We know we can do even better. This project is far greater than just a Continental team it’s a long-term vision for real impact. Despite Madar’s solid race calendar this season, particularly in Europe and Asia, we are still facing some difficulties in receiving invitations to several African races. We are not sure why, but we continue to respect all organizers across Africa, and we sincerely wish them success in their work.”
Abdeslam comes across as passionate and committed to his riders, the team, his sponsors and Algeria. We asked him if he had any final comments to share:
“I want to thank all our riders at Madar Pro Cycling Team for their commitment and hard work so far, as well as the entire staff who work alongside me every day. I wish them all the best and I say to them: get ready, August is going to be even more exciting! We have some big races coming up in Europe and Asia!”
Lastly, I would like to sincerely thank all the team at Africa Rising for your continued and comprehensive coverage of African riders and teams. You are helping to deliver a powerful and positive image of African cycling to the world and we truly appreciate that.”
And its not just about the men. Although Madar do not have a women’s team at this time, they announced earlier in 2025 that Algeria’s National Women’s Champion, 21-year-old Nesrine Houili would join the Madar Pro Cycling family, with the team supporting her racing in Africa and across Europe. She recently spent time in Belgium at training camps and racing hard.
Nesrine has been recording a lot of top 50 finishes there – check out her palmares on ProCyclingStats. She is hopeful of a good performance at the World Champs in Rwanda, in the Women’s U23 Road Race.
We will share more on Madar’s results and developments as they happen. They have a comprehensive Race Reports section on their website, and do give them a follow on Instagram and Facebook to keep abreast of what they are up to! #AfricaRising #AfricaCycling
