Algeria: Developing the Next Generation

Azzedine Lagab talks to Global Peloton about the opportunities and challenges of working with young riders in Algeria

Jan 16, 2024

Welcome to Global Peloton!

I’ve been saying it for a long time now. Algeria is a hotspot for emerging cycling talent.

It’s a country with more than a century of history in professional cycling, with the first Algerian-born cyclists competing in the Tour de France in the early 1900s.

More recently, Algerians such as Azzedine Lagab, Youcef Reguigui and Yacine Hamza have led the North African nation on the world stage and inspired a new generation of riders.

I spoke to Lagab, a winner of eleven national championships, a few weeks ago about the ups-and-downs of developing the next generation of Algerians. It’s a quest filled with the hope of bright young starlets, but also one that struggles with the common challenges that many African nations face.

Lagab at the Grand Prix d'Ongola. Image: Grand Prix d'Ongola

‘The talents, it’s not enough’

In 2023, Algeria won every junior event in the African Continental Championships; women’s, men’s, road races, TTs, TTTs - everything. It was a stunning feat, and demonstrated the sheer volume of talent in the country.

As Azzedine Lagab gets nearer to the end of his racing career, he is getting more involved in developing young riders in Algeria. He’s able to share with them his experiences having raced in Europe with the German Bike Aid team, been part of World Championships and two Olympic Games and competed at the elite level in Africa for fifteen years.

Lagab told me of his excitement for this next generation of talent, but also that they face different challenges to when he first raced.

“I think my first race was in 1998,” he recalled. “Back then, there was a lot of riders in the start of the races, but now the the number has reduced, but I think quality is quite different.”

“So we have fewer riders, but with big, big talents. We would prefer to have many riders, but it's a time that there is now a lack of bicycles in Algeria and cycling is developing so quickly, so we can't match the technology. You can lose the race just because of this.”

“So yeah, we have many talents, but the talents, it's not enough. We have to work more and more and we try our best to help the young riders on the right path, but it's quite difficult. In the times that we live in now everybody wants to get some money quickly and to perform quickly. They have a lack of patience. So I hope we can change that.”

The 35-year-old hopes to continue to share his knowledge with the young riders, even though he’s not yet done with racing.

“I'm always here to help, to give my experience for the young riders in races for now.”

“I feel myself like a coach more than a rider, so I'm always there to give them advice and tell them what to do. But I think I'm still as strong as the young riders, so I think it's just for them to have some experienced, two or three riders, experienced with them, racing with them.”

“When I started to race in international races we didn't have a rider to tell me what to do in the race, so it's it's a really big chance for them to learn.”

Time will tell if this promising group of riders will produce Algeria’s next professional. What’s clear is that the infrastructure and environment is developing positively.

Several young Algerians have been able to benefit from the World Cycling Centre hub in South Africa, where they have been able to attend training camps.

Maybe the biggest development though, which will benefit Algeria’s male cyclists, is the launch of a new continental team: Team Madar. It’s Algeria’s first continental outfit since 2019 and it will give several young riders the opportunity to race at a higher-level. However, the team is set to have a late start to their inaugural season due to problems with receiving their team bikes.

Hamza Amari perhaps looked like Algeria’s biggest prospect in 2023 racing for the development team of Q36.5. Amari was surprisingly dropped by the Swiss continental team (which will only have two Africans in it this year) for 2024. He will ride for Madar alongside Lagab and the prolific Yacine Hamza.

Thankfully Amari has this safety net of the new team, but it’s a reminder of the vulnerability of riders from smaller nations on the rise. It’s great when they get an opportunity, but if that gets withdrawn they are usually left scrambling. I could give you a dozen examples of this happening over the transfer season.

Algeria has talent, no doubt about that. The infrastructure is growing and over time we will see more Algerians making their way through the levels of the sport. The route to the top is difficult, though. There are no guarantees. Here’s hoping Team Madar and other initiatives can create more secure pathways to the World Tour.

Race Round-up

Panama’s Franklin Archbold won his home race at the Vuelta a Chiriqui

Monika Jat is the new women’s ITT champion of India

In Thailand, Adne van Engelen won the Tour de CMU

Maximiliano Navarrete defended the Giro del Sol San Juan

Thanks for reading Global Peloton!

If you enjoyed this post, please consider subscribing and sharing.

You can also add a paid subscription if you want to support Global Peloton and enable me to bring you more international cycling news and stories.

Global Peloton