Stradalli – Bike Aid Racers Getting Ready At STAPS Institute

Stradalli– Bike Aid riders are now in fully focused on preparing for the Tour of Eritrea on beginning April 19^th. Several riders are currently training at the STAPS Institute in Koln, Germany.

The STAPS Institute is world famous for their work with World Tour level professional cyclists. STAPS works closely with top level athletes providing threshold testing, training data analysis and detailed development planning. They have brought several teams incredible amounts of success.

The infamous HTC – Highroad which saw Mark Renshaw and Mark Cavendish form an unbeatable sprint duo behind an even more intimidating sprint train was fueled by the guidance of STAPS between 2008-2011. Team Katusha of Russia and Garmin – Cannondale Pro Cycling have both trained with STAPS in the past and STAPS currently works with several top level triathletes and cyclists for more personalized training.

Tony Martin of Etixx – Quickstep is one of these athletes who have been supervised by STAPS since the beginnings of his professional career. Martin has seen 57 professional wins during his career including 3 UCI Time Trial World Championships.

This high quality facility is now home base for preparation for Meron Teshome and Amanuel Mengis Ghebreindrias for the upcoming Tour of Eritrea. The Tour of Eritrea reaches 2600 meters altitude, an altitude similar to the mountain ranges covered in the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia.

The Tour of Eritrea is tough, but the team is sparing no expense in ensuring the riders are prepared for the worst the Tour of Eritrea has to offer. Amanuel Mengis and Meron Teshome have already shown they have great form for the early season, but winning the Tour of Eritrea will be the next step in the development of these young riders.

Stradalli – Bike Aid races with a focus of developing young African riders, but also giving the people basic needs such as food and water. Education and training for these people is also provided as part of the Stradalli – Bike Aid mission. Eritrea is one of the poorest countries in the world. Very few can fathom what life would be like to live with only $150 USD per year, but this is reality Eritrean men, women and children. Two thirds of Eritrean households lack basic food security.

The idea of an Eritrean man finding success at the highest level of the sport is miraculous, but despite the odds being stacked against them, Eritreans are excelling at the top level of cycling. Daniel Teklehaimanot, Mekseb Debesay and Natnael Berhane of Dimension Data have made their way into the World Tour and are riding at the front of the hardest races. Eritrea is a small country, but they are cycling crazy people with a lot of determination who take nothing for granted.

Now at STAPS Stradalli – Bike Aid is helping Meron Teshome and Amanuel Mengis reach the next level with rigorous training in the state of the art STAPS facilities. Teshome and Mengis have gone from training on the war torn roads of Eritrea to racing the Challenge Mallorca. Now they have made it all the way to the number 1 training facility in Germany. They have talent, but they have the heart for what it takes to be truly successful in the toughest sport in the world.

Many teams are now inquiring about Teshome and Mengis after stellar early season performances in Africa and Mallorca. Both riders had standout performances at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo and Tour du Cameroun. Stradalli – Bike Aid management said to lose them would be tough, but expected.

“When young guys are performing so well and they are so grateful for the opportunity, they are ideal candidates for top level teams. We love helping these guys develop into something special. To see them go is bitter sweet. We love having guys like Meron and Amanuel with us, but these guys are destined for the World tour. We don’t know if they will make the jump to the World tour next year or not, but either way we are happy that our mission to help African riders is succeeding and not just a dream.” Management said.