Some of the world’s finest cyclists will converge on Eldoret next month when Kenya hosts the high profile Africa Road Cycling Championship.
Eritrean Hailu Biniam Girmay who made history this year by becoming the first African to win the Green Jersey at the 2024 Tour de France, is among the elite cyclists who will compete in the Africa Road Cycling Championships, the most prestigious cycling competition in Africa, that will be held in Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu counties.
The championship has so far attracted participants from 16 countries, and will be staged from October 9 to 13.
The championship, now in its 17th edition, will be held at a cost of Sh400 million. It promises to open up Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet and Uasin Gishu counties to cycling.
Girmay, 24, has left an indellible mark in Giro d’Italia and Tour de France, two of the three major European professional cycling stage races. Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana are collectively termed ‘the Grand Tours’, and all the three races are similar in format, being three-week races with daily stages.
He returned to Tour de France, the crown jewel of world cycling competitons, from June 29 to July 21, and won the third stage of the Tour and the Green Jersey in a bunch sprint. Girmay also won Stage Eight and Stage 12 of the Tour de France.
Girmay finished 49th in road racing at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in a time of six minutes, 26.57 seconds. Belgian Remco Evenepoel won gold in 6:19:34, relegating home cyclists Valentin Madouas (6:20:45) and Christophe Laporte (6:20:50) to silver and bronze positions respectively.
In 2022, Girmay won Giro d’Italia, becoming the first African cyclist to win a Grand Tour stage after winning stage 10. Last year, Girmay’s compatriot, Henok Mulubrhan, won Africa Road Cycling Championship staged in Accra, followed by Algeria’s Yacine Hamza, and Achraf Ed Doghmy from Morocco.
Yesterday, Sports Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen presided over the launch of the championship at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Nairobi, with a rallying call to Kenyans to turn out in large numbers to cheer participants at the event.
Hosts Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Algeria, South Sudan, Benin, Ghana, South Africa, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Namibia, Seychelles and Morocco will field competitors. The championship will be launched in Kapsabet, Nandi County. The VIP and protocol races will be held on October 8, followed by men and women’s junior time trial on October 9 in Eldoret City.
The women’s elite, the under-23 time trial, and men’s elite races as well as the under-23 time trials will also be held on October 9 at the same venue.
The women’s junior time trial races will cover a lap stretching over 11.2 kilometres, while the men’s junior time trials will cover two laps over a distance of 22.5km. Women’s elite and under-23 time trials will cover two laps over 22.5km, while men’s elite and under-23 time trials will be held over three laps stretching over 33.8km.
Mixed relay time trial will beheld on October 10 in Eldoret over four laps for a total of 45km. The teams will each feature two men, and a similar number of female competitors.
On October 11, the men and women’s junior road races will be held. Junior women will compete round the course six times for a distance of 66.1km. Men will do nine laps for a distance of 99.9km.
Time trial races will start inside the Uasin Gishu County government offices, before competitors hit the Plateau Road, then down to Nairobi-Nakuru Highway from where they will take Malaba Road and finish outside Uasin Gishu County government offices.
Women’s elite race, and the under-20 road races will be held over one lap for a distance of 104km. It will be held on October 12, and will start at Uasin Gishu County government offices and end at Elgeyo Marakwet County government offices in Iten.
Men’s elite race, and the under-20 road race will feature competitors above the weight of 157kg, and will be run on October 13.
However, men’s races will be run over two laps.
“We shall do everything to ensure the championship runs smooth, and to show the world that there is more to the Great Rift than athletics,” Murkomen said. He was accompanied by Sports Principal Secretary, Peter Tum and Sports Administrative Secretary Evans Achoki.
Also present at the launch were Kenya Cycling Federation’s chief executive officer, Kelvin Mwangi. Mwangi said prize money for the championships will be disclosed after close of entries on October 7.
Tum said the government will spend more than Sh400m to stage the event, and asked other corporates to support the event.
“Sports will grow only if local companies support the government’s initiatives,” Tum said.
