What is real progress for African cycling?
+ Venezuelan Victories, Greeks in Turkey, the next Rwandan star and more news from around the world of cycling
Welcome to Global Peloton!
I’m excited about what is happening with African riders in Europe at the moment. For the first time, really, we are seeing a spread of riders consistently taking top results. The momentum is building.
The next big race on the Asia Tour starts this coming Saturday. Expect another post later this week previewing the men’s Tour of Thailand. If there is enough information available, there will also be one for the women’s race next week.
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Dan
A good weekend for Africa
Biniam Girmay’s breakthrough results at Gent-Wevelgem and the Giro d’Italia last season did not signify that African cycling has developed to an acceptable standard. That somehow pro cycling has now ticked that box. It was just a beginning.
The development of cycling in Africa, and indeed anywhere, should not be measured by one or two riders achieving remarkable results. Instead the goal should be to see results and progression from a variety of riders and nations and to build the infrastructure so that generations of new pro riders can thrive.
We saw a glimpse of that this weekend.
Two Eritreans excelled in Italy as Amanuel Gebreighzhabier took second at GP Industria & Artigianato - a return to form after a long injury lay-off. Compatriot Natnael Tesfatsion was fourth.
Tesfatsion had impressed earlier in the week too, taking 13th overall at Coppi e Bartali - including three top-10 stage results.
Both Eritreans are now on the build-up to the Giro.
We met her a couple of weeks ago in the Under the Radar segment, but this weekend, Eyeru Tesfoam took a step forward on her comeback. Tesfoam finished third at Grand Prix Crevoisier - the first of many potential podium visits for the Ethiopian this season and beyond. Tesfoam finished one place behind South Africa’s Maude le Roux, who rides for the UCI World Cycling Centre.
Tsgabu Grmay, another Ethiopian, didn’t get the result he wanted, but put in an excellent ride to be the last man standing from the breakaway on stage 5 of the Volta Catalunya.
Young Algeria, Hamza Amari, made his European Q36.5 Continental Team debut at the GP Adria Mobil where he finished 13th. 19-year-old Milkias Kudus, younger brother of Merhawi, also made his debut at the race, coming home 31st.
Just a glimpse, then, of what may come in the future.
The quest for equal opportunity is far from over, but progress is being made. There are more African riders on a variety of teams, from a variety of nations, picking up results in Europe than we’ve seen before.
Venezuelan Victories
There were four UCI wins in the last week-and-a-half for Venezuela. They came from two sprinters racing in Portugal.
Orluis Aular, who rides for Caja Rural-Seguros RGA, took his first win of the season at the Classica da Arrabida. The Venezuelan national champion is a punchy sprinter who can get over a tough hill. He showed that ability across the whole week as he took four podium stage results on his way to winning the Volta ao Alentejo overall.
Leangel Linarez is of a similar mould to Aular, but is perhaps slightly more suited to the flatter finishes. Linarez was the dominant sprinter at Alentejo, taking stages two and five. On stages two, there was an all-South American top-four, with Colombian Santiago Mesa and Argentinain Tomas Contte third and fourth respectively.
These two are the only riders of note from Venezuela racing in Europe. Leonel Quintero is one of the top racers on the Asia Tour. Outside of these three, there appears to be little prospect of Venezuela becoming a force in cycling as we’ve seen in Colombia and Ecuador.
There is a thriving racing scene in Venezuela. Riders such as Roniel Campos and Anderson Paredes are stand-out talents across South American races. Given the opportunity, perhaps some young talents could shine in Europe.
Greeks in Turkey
We had a peek at Greek cycling last week.
On Sunday, one of their more senior riders, Polychronis Tzortzakis, won the Syedra Ancient City race in Turkey. ‘Big Pol’ is known for his attacking style. This time it paid off as he won solo.
The Greek said in a post on social media:
514 days without a victory but i've never lost faith on myself.
GP Syedra Ancient City 🏆
Thank you boys for the TEAM work and your trust 🇬🇷
#TeamHellas
Not only did Tzortzakis take the win, but the Greek national team also took third and fourth through Periklis Ilias and Georgios Bouglas (who we spoke to last week). One of Bouglas’ tips for future stardom, Nikolaos Drakos, was 26th.
Turkey’s two biggest prospects also featured in the top ten. Samet Bulut and Halil Dogan finished in 5th and 7th.
Under the Radar
Eric Muhoza is very much an emerging start on the rise, the new face of cycling in Rwanda. At the Kivu Belt Race on Sunday, he was beaten by his younger compatriot, Samuel Niyonkuru - a talented youngster who is flying under the radar.
Like Muhoza, Niyonkuru is a graduate of the, now defunct, Adrien Niyonshuti Cycling Academy.
Niyonkuru first came to my attention in 2021 when he finished third at the African Continental Championships junior road race. He’s gone on to have opportunities to race in France with the Rouler pour le Rwanda project and has completed two Tours du Rwanda and one Tour du Cameroon.
If Niyonkuru is going to develop, he needs to race in Europe. We’ve seen too many talented riders get stuck in Africa, not able to build experience and skills - ultimately, they don’t progress.
With their ongoing investment in Rwanda, I’d like to see Niyonkuru sign for Israel Premier Tech Academy. It makes sense to me. Let’s see.
Extra Reading
Here’s a great piece from Sadhbh O’Shea on Tsgabu Grmay
Other News
Costa Rican Jason Huertas won again at La Pobla Llarga. Ahmed Naser, from Bahrain, finished second - a breakthrough result for the 22-year-old.
Clasica Panama was won by Carlos Samudio, Daniel Bonillo and Cristofer Jurado finished on the podium
The women’s Kivu Belt Race in Rwanda was won by Team Amani’s Xaverine Nirere.
Brazilian Luis Henrique Flauzino won the Memorial Carlos Cubillo-Rivas Vaciamadrid.
There are new TT champions in Argentina and Chile. Maria Yapura Plaza and Sergio Fredes won the Argentinian titles. Aranza Villalon and Jose Luis Rodriguez won in Chile.
Jamaica’s Llori Sharpe and Algeria’s Nesrine Houili made their season debuts for CANYON//SRAM Generation at GP Pontevedra. Paraguayan Aqua Marina Espinola finished the race in fourth place.
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I’ll be back later this week with some riders to watch out for at the Tour of Thailand.
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