Race To the Sky! 17yo Jonathan Muhawenimana takes on the iconic Mt. Blue Sky Hill Climb!

Race To the Sky! 17yo Jonathan Muhawenimana takes on the iconic Mt. Blue Sky Hill Climb!

On 29 March 2026, 17-year-old Jonathan Muhawenimana [https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/jonathan-muhawenimana] won the Rwandan Junior MTB XCO National Championships. This was a great win for a rising young Rwandan cycling star. Jonathan is the son of Rafiki Uwimana, who, alongside Adrien Niyonshuti, was one of the founding riders of Team Rwanda 20 years ago. Jonathan is currently in the USA on a training and racing program, and we would like to give a shout-out to the awesome Excel Sports [www.excelsports.com] for sponsoring Jonathan! Our podcast today is with Ryan Petry, the Creative and Community Lead for the iconic Mt Blue Sky Hill Climb [https://www.bicyclerace.com/]. The Mt Blue Sky Hill Climb will take place on 25 July, and is a legendary 27-mile ride up the highest paved road in North America. The ride was established in 1962, and the organisers close the road to the top for riders' safety. The Climb is in honor of Bob Cook, a US Olympian and record holder. Bob Cook died of brain cancer at the age of 23, and the Hill Climb is a memorial to this extraordinary athlete.  We hear Jonathan's hopes for the race - give him a follow on Strava to see how he does [https://strava.app.link/HCZmkwLJB4b] - some tips from Ryan on how to handle this really challenging race, and lots more! Give the race a follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/blueskyhillclimb/], and we will of course be sharing Jonathan's results as they are confirmed.

Its National Champs time! Our review of all the action

Per UCI rule 1.2.029: "National road championships shall be organised during the last full week of the month of June" and over the last few days, we have seen 12 African nations organise their National road championships, including Eritrea, Algeria, Mauritius alongside relatively new countries like Kenya and Eswatini. South Africa and Namibia held theirs in February. On the podcast today, we talk through: - The vital nature of National Championships in terms of riders experiencing a UCI-sanctioned race, still rare for a lot of young African riders; - A deep-dive into the results of the top African nations; - The breaking news that it seems that Rwanda did not register their National Championships with the UCI, and Kim's experience with this situation in Benin in 2021; and - How several nations, including Cote d'Ivoire (the nation of current UCI Confederation of African Cycling President) did not register their National championships with the UCI at all. We have a comprehensive database of all UCI-sanctioned race results across Africa on our website [https://teamafricarising.org/2026-africa-uci-calendar/]. We are also very happy that several of the riders who won either ITT or Road Race titles feature in our recently published 'Top Ten Next Gen' article for Rouleur Magazine [https://www.rouleur.cc/blogs/the-rouleur-journal/africa-rising-the-next-young-riders-chasing-the-wheels-of-giants]. Check it out!

Operating in the heart of the DRC - Meet Goma Cycling Club

Over a decade ago in the DRC, Charles-Guy Makongo already had his hands full helping the country's most vulnerable people access justice and avoid violence in his day job working there as Country Director for the American Bar Association. However, in his free time, after meeting them when out for a bike ride, he took some 30 teenage cyclists under his wing and created the Goma Cycling Club. Fast forward ten years, and one of the club's young talents Joel Kyaviro stood on the podium as a stage winner at the 2026 Tour of Cameroon - the DRC's first ever UCI race win! Listen to Guy as he talks passionately about building a safe and positive environment for these young people; how an article in The Guardian by Ruth Maclean and Caleb Kabanda [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/15/i-only-dream-of-bicycles-the-drc-cycling-club-offering-hope-and-breakfast] got them international attention and donors; and how they continue to foster young talent in a very difficult environment. In early 2025, Africa Rising Cycling partnered with Goma CC and some of its European donors, and supplied new Zwift Hubs and Wahoo HRMs for them to train safely, as riding outside was impossible with a conflict with Rwanda raging all around. The ability to continue training and operating kept Goma CC going through the conflict. We thank our partners Zwift [www.zwift.com]and Wahoo [www.wahoofitness.com]for saving this vital club in the region. Goma CC is always looking for donations, bikes, clothing, bottles, and equipment for their riders. To get in touch with them, contact Guy on: charlesguymakongo@gmail.com Give them a follow on Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/gomacyclingclubsgcc/] too. We hope you enjoy this episode, and if you do, please share on your social media!

Season 2: Creating a Cycling Culture in Africa: Meet Village Bicycle Project

As the first episode of our new season, this discussion could not be further from recent podcasts talking about African professional cycling, however, as we will discuss, they are still linked, all through the bicycle. In this episode, we are talking real grass-roots cycling. We are joined by Joshua Poppel, the Executive Director of the Village Bicycle Project [https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/] (VBP) non-profit. VBP has been operating in Africa for over two decades, aiming to empower communities by strengthening bicycle culture. Their programs couple quality subsidized bicycles with hands-on maintenance training for new owners. They also give village bike mechanics detailed training along with access to specialized bike tools and spare parts. VBP is focused on Sierra Leone and Ghana. We discussed VBP's mission, and their impact to date; the changes Joshua has seen in both countries through the acceptance and passion for cycling across communities; the evolution of cycling as a sport, notably in Sierra Leone through the tireless work of their partner Abdul Karim Kamara [https://www.instagram.com/stylishmankarim/] (CEO and Founder of Tour De Lunsar and the Lunsar Cycling Team) and the success of the Tour of Lunsar there in getting local people excited about cycling; Joshua's recent participation in the SUFFER event (An Africa Rising Cycling fundraider in the USA) and the launch of a SUFFER Wyoming Gravel event in September (contact info@teamafricarising.org [info@teamafricarising.org] for more info!); and finishing on the need for more cycling-related infrastructure across Africa, with Kimberly highlighting Benin's recent investment in bike lanes in the capital city of Cotonou. Joshua shares at the end how they are always in need of bicycles, bike parts, board members and of course donations. Check out their website [https://www.villagebicycleproject.org/get-involved2] for more details on getting involved! Give them a follow on Facebook or Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/villagebikeproject/?hl=am-et]to see updates on their work.

Meet Madar Pro Cycling - Africa's #1 Men's UCI Continental Team

This week, we sat down with Dahmane Abdesslam, the Principal of the Madar Pro Cycling Team [https://www.instagram.com/madarprocyclingteam/]. Madar are African-owned and registered in Algeria, and have had a nix of Algerian, African and international riders on their roster., since launching as a UCI team just two years ago. Their ProCyclingStats bio [https://www.procyclingstats.com/team/madar-pro-cycling-team-2026/overview/start] can give you more infomation. Algerian star riders like Azzedine Lagab [https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/azzedine-lagab] and Youcef Reguigui [https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider/youcef-reguigui]have been on their roster, and in 2025 they were the #1 African UCI Continental Team, and broke into the Top 50 teams globally. On 5 June 2026, they won the Tour de Maurice [https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-maurice/2026/gc], as well as taking the coveted KOM Jersey. Our CEO Kimberly Coats and our Podcast Host Jeremy Ford talked to Dahmane about the team, their strategy, Algerian cycling and women's cycling there. We hope you enjoy!