2025 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Championships in Rwanda: Union Cycliste Internationale and Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa join forces to develop African riders

Selected athletes will then be able to train at the UCI WCC in Switzerland or elsewhere in Europe where they will gain appropriate race experience over the next three years

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) are delighted to announce that they have joined forces to develop cycling on the African continent in the lead up to the 2025 UCI Road World Championships to be held in Kigali, Rwanda.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the two bodies aims to ensure that African countries are well represented with strong podium chances at the UCI’s flagship event being held for the first time on the African continent in 2025. It is envisaged that the momentum will be carried on to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and beyond.

The MOU was signed at the UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, on Wednesday 25 May, as part of Africa Day celebrations. The signature came at the end of fruitful discussions between UCI President David Lappartient, UCI Director General Amina Lanaya, the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) ad interim Director Jacques Landry, ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Chief of Development of Sport in Africa Yassine Yousfi.

The parties agreed on a UCI Cycling Development Strategy supporting African athletes so they can be competitive by 2025, notably in the Junior and Under 23 categories

2025 Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Road World Championships in Rwanda: Union Cycliste Internationale and Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa join forces to develop African riders.

The strategy begins this year with the identification of athletes from African countries to be chosen for a training camp at the UCI WCC Satellite in Paarl, South Africa. Selected athletes will then be able to train at the UCI WCC in Switzerland or elsewhere in Europe where they will gain appropriate race experience over the next three years, in the lead-up to the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in the Rwandan capital.

It is envisaged that some 30 athletes (male and female) will be targeted through the UCI WCC’s established physiological testing, results at international races and recommendations from UCI certified coaches and the Director of the UCI WCC Satellite in Paarl, Jean-Pierre Van Zyl.

The UCI WCC – the UCI’s education and training arm – has already launched the careers of some incredible African athletes, for example Eritreans Daniel Teklehaimanot, Merhawi Kudus, Natnael Berhane and Biniam Girmay, and of course Chris Froome, who spent his first months in Europe at the UCI WCC after arriving from Kenya back in 2007. Several of the UCI WCC’s female trainee athletes from Africa have also gone on to sign contracts with professional teams, and this year the WCC Team, a UCI Women’s Continental Team, has two African members: Ethiopian Selam Amha Gerefiel and South African Maude Le Roux.

After signing the MOU, UCI President David Lappartient declared: “When I stated in my Agenda 2022 that I wanted to take the UCI Road World Championships to Africa for the first time, it was part of a wider vision to strengthen our development work on the continent. I am incredibly excited to work alongside the ANOCA to ensure that African athletes will be forces to be reckoned with in Kigali in three years’ time.”

“The continent is teaming with talent, and we will make sure that the whole world will be witness to that at the 2025 UCI Road World Championships and beyond.”

Read: Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) brief National Olympic Committees (NOCs) on the implementation of the winter sport project

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

More like this

puma

Puma Supports the Children of Olympafrica

The MoU will focus on providing products to young Sports talents from the fifty (50) Centres of...
Winter Olympics

Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) brief...

Communication was also sent to all African NOCs to nominate athletes to participate in this project ABUJA, Nigeria,...

Africa’s first-ever Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) World Tour team,...

In 2021 Team Qhubeka ASSOS is set to compete in approximately 70 races over the course of...

LATEST NEWS

Final Fantasy 9 Remake Speculation Grows After Anniversary Site Launch

Square Enix has reignited excitement for a potential Final Fantasy 9 remake by launching an official website celebrating the game's 25th anniversary. The new...

IPL 2025: LSG Edge MI in Thriller as Marsh, Markram Shine and Avesh Holds Nerve at Death

Tilak Varma retired out while Hardik Pandya took charge of strike rotation, but their late push wasn’t enough as Mumbai Indians (MI) fell short...

Motorola Razr 60 & 60 Ultra Leak Reveals Design, Specs & Colors

Motorola's upcoming foldable phones, the Razr 60 and Razr 60 Ultra, have surfaced online ahead of their official launch. Although the company has not...

IPL 2025: PBKS vs RR – Preview, Prediction, Starting XI and Where To Watch The Match LIVE

IPL 2025 promises more excitement as Punjab Kings take on Rajasthan Royals in Match 18, scheduled for Saturday, April 5, at the Maharaja Yadavindra...

Featured