Stradalli Cycle – Bike Aid Add 2016 Rio Olympics Bound Janvier Hadi To Roster

If you were curious whether the Stradalli Cycle – Bike Aid Conti Team from Germany would be lacking depth and talent for the upcoming UCI racing season due to the loss of Mekseb Debesay who signed with the Dimension Data World Tour Team last month. Well there is nothing to be concerned about as the team has rounded out its field of African riders with Janvier Hadi who will be representing Rwanda in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero and the 2015 Tour of Rwanda winner Jean Bosco Nsengimana.

“When Mekseb left there was a gap but we knew there was an abundance of talent waiting for an opportunity.  There are world-class athletes looking for a chance to race in Europe. We have guys who are going to the Olympics and are winning the Tour of Rwanda yet they have a hard time getting on a conti team. That doesn’t make any sense and it shows why the Stradalli Cycle – Bike Aid cause is so important. It gives these outstanding cyclists the chance to compete at the top levels of cycling.” Stradalli Cycle CEO Tom Steinbacher

The story of Hadi and Nsengimana is truly inspirational as they come from Rwanda, a country devastated by genocide, poverty and war. While many wonderful charities have sent food, money, medicine and other methods of assistance there is one thing that is desperately needed as well, opportunity. The people of Africa are in desperate need of a chance to better their lives and that is what the goal of Bike Aid is all about, giving young African cyclists the chance at a better life.

“For years if you won a big race in Africa it was nice but it didn’t mean you would even get an interview with a conti team because of the cost it requires to get you into Europe to race. We are changing that but we haven’t reached our goal yet. If our roster has 1 or 2 success stories this year there are people who would think that we succeeded. We want multiple success stories each year to show continued progress and this year we are proud to announce we will have 6 riders from Africa on the roster. That is a huge leap forward for us and we are excited about the progress we are making in such a short period of time.” Eric Haus (Founder and CEO of Bike Aid)