Pan-American Championships kick off period of international racing
Races in Uruguay, Sierra Leone, Uzbekistan, Türkiye, Guatemala and elsewhere crammed into two week block
It’s so common throughout the cycling season to see the UCI race calendar dominated by events held in five or six Western European nations.
That’s why its so curious to see huddled together a number of international races within in two weeks as the Spring Classics season completes in Europe; with UCI races in South and Central America, through to West Africa and Central Asia. It’s the most international single stretch of racing I can remember seeing.
The Pan-American Championships kicked it all off. Taking place between the 23rd and 27th of April, the event crowned the top riders across North and South America. However, with its location in Uruguay this year and situated at the height of the European season, most stayed away despite a glut of UCI points being available.
American Human Powered Health rider Ruth Edwards won the women’s TT on the opening day ahead of compatriot Emily Ehrlich and Trinidad & Tobago’s former WorldTour star Teniel Campbell. It was the American’s first ever Pan-American title, and she became the 9th different American woman to win the title in the past 30 years.
The men’s race against the clock was won for a fifth time by Colombia’s Walter Vargas, the Team Medellin man beat fellow Colombian Rodrigo Contreras - formerly of Astana - with Brazil’s Diego de Jesus Mendes in third. Vargas was a close second to Egan Bernal at the Colombian nationals earlier this season.
Picnic-PostNL’s Colombian Juliana Londono won the women’s elite road race title for the first time ahead of the USA’s Skylar Schneider, with Campbell picking up a second bronze of the Championships despite two weeks of illness prior.
Colombia saw even more success in the men’s race, with former UAE Team Emirates sprinter Alvaro Hodeg taking the win. Hodeg now rides at continental level in Colombia with Team Medellin-EPM. Hodeg beat a pair of Costa Ricans, Sebastien Brenes and Jason Huertas, into second and third.
A special mention also needs to go to Colombian junior Luciana Osorio, who for the second year in a row won both road and TT titles. She was also 20th in the TT at the World Championships last year. Only turning 18 in August, she looks like a big talent.
West Africa’s noisiest bike race, the Tour de Lunsar in Sierra Leone, also took place last week with races for men, women and juniors. As well as the usual local favourites, the racing attracted others from the USA as well as members of Team Amani’s development team, the Black Mambas, and several riders from other nations in West Africa.
Home hero Ibrahim Jalloh won the race for a second time after claiming the first and third stages. Jalloh spends a lot of time racing in the UAE and showed that experience in beating Congolese Black Mamba rider Joel Kyaviro into second, with American Andrew Jackson, who won stage two, in third.
The women’s event was dominated by Uganda’s Mary Aleper from the Black Mamba Development team, who won both stages and eventually took the overall by over an hour. Lunsar Cycling Team’s Mbalu Fofanah and Isatu Bangura were second and third.
Here’s an article I wrote about the race a couple of years ago for Write Bike Repeat - SIS Tour de Lunsar: More Than a Bike Race.
Read more:
Tour of Türkiye: Global Riders to Watch
Naveen John, the Indian who races in Belgium
Jamaica International Cycling Classic expands in second year as a UCI race
The 60th Presidential Tour of Türkiye also got underway on Sunday, with Alpecin-Deceuninck’s sprinter Simon Dehairs winning the first stage and team-mate Tibor del Grosso taking stage two. Alongside the WorldTour teams and others, the race features a selection of top African and Asian talent, with the likes of Stefan de Bod, Dawit Yemane and Milkias Maekele set to feature.
The Tour du Benin kicked off on Monday for six stages, with semi-retired South African Reinhardt Janse van Rensburg winning the opening stage. This is a race that has grown in importance over the last few years, with teams flocking from all round West Africa to compete. This year’s field may be the strongest yet, with three continental teams present alongside the national squads and club teams.
Elsehwere, there is also the Tour of Bostonliq for men and women in Uzbekistan happening this week giving excellent opportunities to racers from Central Asia and the Middle East.
Also the Vuelta Bantrab, Guatemala’s premier race, takes place from Wednesday with several ex-professionals present.
Luckily there is not a lot of crossover between these races in terms of regular participants, apart from the Benin women’s team who haven’t taken a team to the Tour de Lunsar this year as they did in 2024. The Pan-American Championships seemed dampened in quality a bit this season, partly due to being in Uruguay, partly due to the Tour of the Gila happening in the USA at the same time.
It goes without saying that these events are the lifeblood of the sport in their respective nations and regions. With the cost to run a bike race higher than ever, it’s encouraging to see a continued growth of races like these in certain parts of the world - although that is not the case elsewhere.
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Kim Le Court-Pienaar, Monument winner
There’s a fact about Kim Le Court-Pienaar that shouldn’t be forgotten. Less than two years ago, the AG Insurance-Soudal rider wasn’t event a road racer. She was a full-time mountain biker, winning the Cape Epic in South Africa and competing in the Marathon World Championships at the Glasgow Super Worlds.
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Racing Africa: Inside the Tour de Lunsar (Cyclist)
And finally…
Here’s a touching post from Fariba Hashimi, whose father came to see her race last week for the first time since she left Afghanistan.
“For the first time, he came to watch my cycling race in person.
I found his eyes in the crowd—and my heart felt calm.
In a country like Afghanistan, a girl who dares to chase her dreams is often left alone… But I was never alone. Because my father believed in me when so many didn’t.”
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