South Africa came, saw, and conquered at the 14th edition of the African Continental Cycling Championships

With a full suite of ITT and Junior events earlier in the week, this weekend saw the two main events of the championships: the Elite/U23 road races.

The women’s race was a 122.3km affair, with eight laps of the flat 1,200m altitude loop, then a 6km summit of the 1,525m Mutet mountain, finishing with one longer lap to the line.

After a highly active early half of the race with attacks from South Africa, Ethiopia, Mauritius, Rwanda, and Uganda, the 36-year-old triathlete, South African Magda Nieuwoudt, in only her second-ever UCI race, put her head down and rode off the front. She would stay away the whole race, eventually winning solo with a dominant 5:52 gap. A chase group including young talent like Uganda’s Nantume Miria could not make a dent on her lead, and the chase eventually splintered. Nieuwoudt shared:

“I massively enjoyed it! We had a strong South African squad of seven riders, and it really keeps your mind at ease to know there are so many athletes to back you. We always wanted somebody up the road in the break, and with my triathlon experience I knew I could stay away.”

Nieuwoudt’s teammate Lisa Bone – who signed this week for the EF Education – Oatly Women’s World Tour team – dropped the rest and came in solo for the silver medal. Teammate Tiffany Keep (DAS Hutchinson) sprinted to the front of a group of eight riders to take the bronze medal, with South Africa taking five of the top ten spots! 

20-year-old Marzaan Mellett (Cycle Nation) took the U23 jersey, just ahead of the highly rated Megan Botha and Ethiopia’s Tsige Kahsay Kiros (Canyon SRAM) taking third place.

Sunday saw a 127-strong Men’s Elite/U23 race take place. There were some huge squads in attendance, with hosts Kenya fielding 12 riders, 11 from South Africa, and ten each for Tanzania, Eritrea, and Algeria, for the 153km version of the women’s course. Many of the riders on the South Africa, Eritrea and Algeria squads race for UCI Continental-level or higher teams, so it was a challenging peloton for the many club riders present.

Those familiar with African cycling were also keenly watching some of the smaller groups, with strong riders like Alexandre Mayer (Burgos Burpellet BH) on the 5-man team from Mauritius; Olympian Charles Kagimu and his countrymen from Uganda (three of whom came to the race now with no 2027 ride with the unexpected closing of the Team Amani men’s team); and four strong riders from Morocco present.

In addition, the rising young talent from Senegal – Neriah Meunier Sow – was the sole representative of his nation, but with eyes on him following a strong race at the World Championships and the Tour de l’Avenir, as well as the news that he has signed a contract with Team BIKE AID.

As always with African races, there was a lot of activity from the start, with attacks coming thick and fast. South Africa put four riders into the breakaway, a very bold move when one Algerian rider only represented the other big nations. With the breakaway only around one minute from the peloton, it never truly felt like the riders would be able to stay away. 

And then, after 12 laps around the city, the peloton headed off for the Mutet climb and Team Eritrea burst to the front, with five riders setting a scorching pace up the climb. 

Riders were jettisoned from the peloton immediately and all the way up. Merhawi Kudis (Burgos Burpellet BH) then attacked solo, hoping to crest the climb and ride away to the finish as he had done in 2025 to become African champion.

However, the peloton, though suffering, managed to limit his lead, and a group of strong riders gave chase, catching him before the summit. As the group went over the summit, South Africa’s Callum Ormiston (Joyrun & Hurricane) decided to attack on the tricky descent and created a significant gap which was never to be caught, and he rode to the line solo, winning the gold by twenty seconds. Ormiston shared his thoughts:

“It really felt incredible to take the jersey. It has been something I've dreamed of, and after crashing in the final kilometres two years ago, it felt like a bit of redemption. Being able to have this jersey on my back for the next year feels incredible, and I am really looking forward to it. The team did an incredible job, as everyone did what they said they would do. It shows we had a proper bunch of riders and staff together, especially as it's self-funded, so it's very easy for everyone to just say they'll do their own thing in the race, but instead we rode as a team. Massive thanks to everyone that made it possible.”

Eritrea’s Hebron Berhane and Morocco’s Driss El Alouani had attacked also and fought it out for several kilometres before Berhane injured his hamstring and had to settle for the bronze. 

Behind these front three, a fierce battle had been going on between Uganda’s Kagimu, Senegal’s Meunier Sow, Eritrea’s Kudus, and Awet Aman; and Shemu Nsengiyuma and Samuel Niyonkuru of Rwanda. Kagimu won the sprint finish to take fourth place, with Meunier Sow taking fifth and the first U23 rider across the line. 

This was a historical moment for his nation, and he shared: “Super proud to win the U23 jersey and the first-ever gold medal for Senegal at an African Continental Championships. I already cannot wait to start the next season with my new team, BIKE AID, and I will be back next year to try and compete for the elite title.”

Continental Championships are a vital platform for young athletes to highlight themselves to the wider cycling community in the hope of getting noticed by pro teams. The Director of the UCI’s World Cycling Centre project in Africa, JP van Zyl shared his thoughts:

“The excellent results at the 2026 CAC African Road Championships in Kisumu were a direct reflection of the recent high-altitude training camp we held in Iten for African riders preparing for the Dakar Youth Olympic Games. Madison Bateson, one of the attendees, underlined that work by winning the junior women’s road race, while it was also a privilege for the WCC to support one of the continent’s biggest rising stars, Neriah Meunier Sow, who claimed the under-23 road race title and finished an impressive fifth overall. These championships continue to show the strength of structured development pathways across Africa.”

You can find the full results for these and all other events at the African Continental Championships on our result page.