#GPNews24/6 - Fariba Hashimi to defend her Afghan national title in France
+ Benin at Maryland Classic, Mayer signs for Burgos and lots of racing to catch up on
Hello and welcome to Global Peloton’s free newsletter, which lands in your inbox every other Tuesday.
Lots is happening in the world of cycling at the moment which means this is a very full edition of the Global Peloton Newsletter. We’ve got a new pro from Mauritius (more on him later this week), a big opportunity for Benin’s women and a story on cycling’s diversity struggles in the UK.
Loads more coming up on the site over the next couple of weeks as we build up to the Tour. We will have some analysis on Biniam Girmay’s green jersey defence, hopefully an interview with another Eritrean who will be at the race plus a look at the national championships - the biggest week of the year in many of cycling’s emerging nations. That will all be available for paid subscribers, so make sure you are signed up for less than a pound/dollar/euro a week.
Enjoy,
Dan
Afghan women’s national championships to be held in France
When the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan back in August 2021, the UCI in co-operation with others worked to evacuate some of the nation’s cyclists, most famously Fariba and Yulduz Hashimi. In 2022, the UCI hosted a national championships for Afghanistan at their base in Aigle, Switzerland, contested between 49 Afghan women with Fariba Hashimi coming out on top ahead of her sister.
Since then, no national championships have been held. It was announced last week that the Afghan women’s national title for 2025 will be contested as part of the French championships, with Hashimi and her compatriots racing as part of the French elite race with separate results.
It’s not yet known how many Afghan riders will compete, and only a few of the 49 who raced in 2022 still compete today. Fariba Hashimi will be the big favourite to once again wear the Afghan flag on her jersey.
"The 2022 Afghan Women's Road Championships in Aigle marked the start of my professional cycling career at the highest level. After winning the Women Elite race, I had the opportunity to join a UCI Women's WorldTeam," Fariba Hashimi said in a press release.
"So, it's with great emotion that I am preparing to defend my title. I obviously hope to win, but I also hope that the event will allow other athletes to shine.
"I would like to thank the UCI and the FFC for making this new edition of our National Championships possible. It is a wonderful demonstration of the solidarity that drives the international cycling community."
The French/Afghan women’s time-trial will take place on Thursday 26th of June and the road race will be on Saturday 28th of June.
While the UCI have been active in supporting Afghan cyclists, there is still more to be done and more who are hoping to be evacuated from the Taliban-run state. Read more on activist Shannon Galpin’s Substack.
Benin national team to race in the USA at Maryland Classic
On September 6th, the Benin women’s national team will become the first African squad to race a women’s UCI event in the USA at the 1.1 Maryland Classic.
The race will take place just a few weeks before the Benin team head to Kigali, Rwanda, for the UCI World Championships and will provide a stern test for the nation’s crop of up-and-coming-talent, coached by Rwandan former WorldTour rider Adrien Niyonshuti.
“As president of the Benin Cycling Federation, I am happy to accept this invitation for our women’s national team to race The Maryland Cycling Classic, just a few weeks before the UCI Cycling World Championship makes its debut in Africa," said Romuald Hazoumè, president of the Benin Cycling Federation.
The Benin national team is run by Niyonshuti in collaboration with Team Africa Rising, who were previously behind a swell of cycling development in Rwanda over many years.
Steve Brunner, the race’s director, said: “As the talent pool continues to grow on the African continent, it’s important to provide opportunities in world-class races like the Maryland Cycling Classic. Kimberly [Coats - CEO of Team African Rising] and her team have put in a lot of great work with the Benin Cycling Federation to develop talent, especially identifying elite-level women. So, it’s great to provide a platform for these women to perform and be recognized."
From just surviving to racing Worlds: How Masaka Cycling Club is rewriting Uganda's sporting story
In the heart of southern Uganda, where poverty, political instability, and the fight for food have long shaped daily life, a quiet revolution is driven not by politics or policy but by passion and the power of the bicycle. At the center of this movement is the Masaka Cycling Club (MCC), a grassroots initiative transforming young lives and redefining what competitive cycling can look like in one of Africa's most underserved and unstable regions.
In "The Pearl of Africa," cycling talent is like the gem itself: precious, rare, and hidden beneath the depths. In a place where survival trumps sport, the raw material is everywhere, yet rarely given a chance to seed, let alone apply, the layers required to produce a polished athlete.
Read full article on Escape Collective
Mauritius’ Alexandre Mayer signs for Burgos-Burpellet-BH
27-year-old Alexandre Mayer has become Mauritius’ first-ever men’s professional rider after signing for Burgos-Burpellet-BH until the end of 2026.
Mayer’s biggest result came last year when he won the African Games title. He was also second in his home national tour, the Tour de Maurice, and raced much of the year with British Continental team Saint Piran. After that team’s demise ahead of this season, Mayer has been racing for British amateur team Foran and was third at the recent Lincoln GP.
In a team press release, Mayer said that he was “very happy to be joining Burgos Burpellet BH. Turning professional, coming from Mauritius, a country quite far from European cycling, and at the age of 27 is incredible. I want to thank the team for their support and everyone who made it possible.”
It’s all part of a trend at the Spanish team towards greater globalisation. Burgos-Burpellet-BH head DS Damien Garcia said: "Alexandre Mayer is a cyclist with good qualities and a future prospect. He's one of the best riders in his country and on the African continent, as his past results demonstrate. We wanted to give him the opportunity to demonstrate his prowess in the professional arena, and we hope he adapts to the team as quickly as possible and becomes a solid rider in the future."
Look out for an exclusive interview with Mayer later this week.
'Looking at the top level, there's not really any change': Why cycling still has a diversity problem
Of the 148 British-registered riders racing for UCI teams in 2025, just one is from an ethnic minority. Sannah Zaman, who is of Pakistani heritage, rides for women's UCI Continental team CJ O'Shea. She is - as far as Cycling Weekly can confirm - just the second British-registered rider of colour in the modern era to race for a UCI team. The first was Germain Burton, son of legendary cyclist Maurice Burton, who competed for JLT-Condor in 2018.
Road cycling in the UK lags far behind its elite sporting cousins in terms of representing the country's ethnic diversity. At the Paris Olympic Games last year, 37% (25 of 67) of Great Britain and Northern Ireland's athletics squad were non-white. Compare that to cycling, where, across all disciplines, the GB team included just one person of colour in a squad of 36 riders (3%). In the country at large, around 18% - nearly one-fifth of the population is non-white.
Read full article on cyclingweekly.com
Race Round-up
You can catch up with everything that happened at the Vuelta a Colombia Feminina with my in-depth report here
One of the longest-standing stage races on the African continent, the Tour du Cameroun was won by Islam Mansouri, who became the first Algerian to win the race since it was launched in 2003. Burkina Faso’s Moucaila Rawende was second and German Campo Schmitz third.
The first UCI edition of the Tour of Yellow River (Dongying) was won by Ecuadorian Cristian Pita. It was the highest-quality field the race had ever seen since being bumped-up from national level. Li Ning Star’s Alexander Salby was second ahead of former Tour of Thailand winnder Tegshbayar Batsaikhan, who was third.
Come back for a big National Championships round-up next week, but some have already taken place. The biggest results so far include a double national title defence for Kim Le Court-Pienaar and a Japanese national title defence for Marino Kobayashi.
Other Bits…
Last week it was the Migration Gravel Race in Kenya. There are (stunning) highlights from each stage on Amani’s Youtube
And just look at these kits from Rapha and Team Amani!
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Are the Benin racers going to be allowed into the US? A sports team from Senegal was recently barred from entry