‘There’s no stepping stone’ - Is African cycling in a boom or bust?

With the first road World Championships ever to take place on African soil just days away, African cycling is in a paradox. On the one hand, African riders have never had so much success, from Kim Le Court-Pienaar’s 2025 Monument victory and yellow jersey to Biniam Girmay’s green at the Tour in 2024. On the other hand, the number of African professionals racing in the WorldTour is in decline.

The media narrative whipped up by Le Court-Pienaar and Girmay’s success, along with the impending World Championships in Kigali, could give the impression that African cycling is in a boom period and that the floodgates are now open for the long-promised influx of African talents to make their mark at the sport’s elite levels. 

However, since the launch of the Women’s WorldTour, the number of African riders has been minuscule, doubling from one to two when Le Court-Pienaar joined Ashleigh Moolman Pasio at AG Insurance-Soudal last season. Numbers in the men’s WorldTour peaked seven years ago and have steadily declined since. At the time of writing, just four African men have 2026 WorldTour contracts.

Former WorldTour professional turned rider agent Robbie Hunter has managed several high-profile African riders over the past decade. Hunter knows better than most how deep the talent pool is across the African continent, but admits that this obvious talent hasn’t converted into contracts over recent years. 

‘When Biniam started having his success, people started saying: “Oh, more teams will now take on African talent because they see the potential that's there’” But that's not the case. It absolutely hasn't happened,’ Hunter tells Domestique over a call from his office in Sunnmatt, Switzerland, where his ProTouch Global agency is based. 

‘Let me open the door’ was the caption on Biniam Girmay’s Instagram post on the evening of his first Tour de France stage victory last year. He was inferring that his success would be a platform allowing others to rise. 

Having worked with several African riders over the years, Hunter is confident that talent isn’t the problem; there are several barriers that are preventing these riders from racing at the top levels. 

'What I do know is African riders – Eritreans, Ethiopians are exceptionally talented. In some ways, more naturally talented athletes than some of the European kids. That's a fact,' Hunter says. 

'I think at the end of the day, a lot of the complications are to do with the athletes. They come with a lot of complications from their side: visa issues, travel issues, and language issues.

'The reality is, if you do come with complications, you absolutely need to come with results. Then people are prepared to bypass the complications.'

Sport isn’t charity, and no team should be expected to give up a place on their squad just because a rider is from a certain place. However, in the age of the super teams, smaller outfits need to get creative to find talented riders who are going to help them score results. 

The problem is, Hunter believes, African riders have to do much more than cyclists from more ‘traditional’ cycling nations to get noticed and win a contract offer. If they don’t go that extra mile, 99% of the time riders from Africa are overlooked in favour of others, despite often having better power numbers.

‘Unless you're prepared to do something over and above or beyond what's been asked of you, people don't care and they don't see it.

‘The managers and a lot of trainers just look at Pro Cycling Stats. It's unfortunate, but that's what happens. The teams look at it and go, well, do we want to include an African rider that is complicated? That's possibly a visa issue? All this gets added up, and they go, should we rather just take a Swiss or an Italian or a French or a Belgian rider? And we all know the answer.’

The UCI have announced multiple times over the decades their intention to see the sport globalise. They think having more riders from around the world at the top level and including races in the WorldTour from a greater variety of nations will help the sport grow.

The governing body work towards this goal through their World Cycling Centre and has made some progress towards that ambition, but Hunter doesn’t think that the UCI is doing enough. 

‘It's easy to talk and easy to say “we want”, but unless the governing body is absolutely prepared to stand up on a political level and help these things happen, it does not happen.’

Hunter recalls occasions when he has called on the UCI for support with a rider’s visa application, something which will have a huge bearing on that particular rider’s future, but has received little response. 

‘It's easy to sit on the roof and say, “yeah, absolutely, we want an international sport.” But it's not what I've seen. That's the reality.’

Hunter is no more positive about the impact that the upcoming Worlds in Kigali will have on the future of African cycling development. He reflects back on the history of the Tour du Rwanda and the fact that very few riders have actually benefited from that race in terms of securing professional contracts at the higher levels.

‘How many riders have come out of the Tour of Rwanda and turned pro? So what has that event done for that country and from a development perspective as well to uplift athletes?... That's honestly my sober response.’

The Worlds in Kigali in isolation will struggle to make a significant impact on the reality of the sport’s geographical boundaries. There are systematic barriers holding African riders back.

Hunter looks back at the Qhubeka team in its peak and the pathway it created for African riders. All but three of the African men’s WorldTour riders from the past decade came through that system. For the prospects of African riders to improve, new pathways must be created. 

‘It's not going to be any better in the next five years. There's no platforms that are taking younger athletes from Africa, and I include South Africa, so none from South Africa, none from Eritrea, none from Ethiopia, nothing from whether it's Mozambique or Zimbabwe or whatever the case may be.

‘Let's put it this way, there is no platform or stepping stone for them to come to Europe.’