By GPC Sports Reporter
Uganda’s Nantume Miria is targeting gold while Rwanda’s Akimana Donatha prepares to defend her title as African cycling teams converge on Kisumu for the continental championships.
The Confederation of Africa Cycling (CAC) Africa Road Cycling Championships will run from Wednesday, October 21, to Sunday, October 25, bringing together junior, under-23 and elite riders from across the continent.
Also Read
“I want to improve on my medal this time when I compete next week. I have come for competition,” said Miria, who won silver in the junior women’s category at the 2024 championships in Eldoret.
The Ugandan cyclist finished behind Ethiopia’s Nardos Tsegay, who won the title in two hours, three minutes and eight seconds, while Eritrea’s Eldana Bekeret took bronze.
Miria will be seeking to go one better in Kisumu after finishing sixth in the individual time trial (ITT) and 19th in the road race at last year’s championships in Diani, Kwale County.
“Whenever I compete in Kenya, I have been doing well, and I want to give my best to win a medal and fly the Ugandan flag high,” she said.
Team Uganda arrived in Kisumu early Sunday ahead of the five-day competition.
Rwanda banks on defending champion
Rwanda will be counting on Donatha, who arrives in Kisumu after an impressive run at the 2026 Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) Zone Five Youth Games, where she won gold in both the individual time trial and road race.
The cyclist is part of Rwanda’s 29-member contingent seeking honours across the men’s and women’s categories, from under-17 to elite level.
Donatha also won the individual time trial title at the 2025 CAC Africa Championships in Diani, strengthening her credentials ahead of the Kisumu contest.
She will be joined by Yvonne Masengesho, who won bronze in the junior women’s category at last year’s championships, as Rwanda seeks to maintain its strong showing in the division.
The Rwandan team departed for Kenya by road on Saturday after three weeks of intensive training at the World Cycling Centre in Musanze.
The squad includes riders in the under-17, under-19, under-23 and senior categories, reflecting the country’s intention to compete across the championships.
Early arrivals set stage for continental contest
Benin, Mauritius and Algeria were among the first countries to arrive in Kisumu ahead of the championships, with organisers expecting more teams to travel by road.
CAC Africa press officer Elias Makori said Kenya was ready to host the event for the third consecutive year, following the 2024 edition in Eldoret and the 2025 championships in Diani.
“We shall work to ensure that the media operations are first class and maintain global standards,” Makori said.
He noted that the championships had attracted considerable interest from African media, with journalists from countries including Rwanda and South Africa seeking accreditation.
“Africa is always a great host of global sports competitions and with Rwanda having hosted the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, the standard has been raised extremely high. We are confident that Kisumu will be a worthy host of this year’s African championships,” he added.
Kenya will be seeking to improve its performances against some of the continent’s leading cyclists as it stages the championships for a third successive year.
Eritrea dominated last year’s medal standings with 11 medals and claimed the elite men’s 163.8km road race title on the final day.
Merhawi Kudus won the race in 3:53:06, beating compatriot Awet Aman by one second, while Algeria’s Abdellah Mimouni finished third in 3:54:12.
Algeria will also be hoping to build on its success in the men’s youth 42km road race, where it swept all three podium places last year. Saad Bechelaghem won in 1:05:18, followed by Abdellah Allal in 1:07:00, while Ilyes Ahmed Gagueche finished third.
The Kisumu championships will feature road races, team time trials, a mixed relay and individual time trials, with riders competing in the men’s and women’s categories for continental honours.
