Interview With Stradalli - Bike Aid Rider Meron Teshome

Meron Teshome of Stradalli – Bike Aid German team may only be 23 years old but he is already gaining attention around the European Cycling community. Trying to give sprinters from Eritrea a great reputation, Teshome is also trying to become a great representative for the rise in African cycling.

During an interview with Teshome, we were able to get to see how impactful the Stradalli – Bike Aid efforts truly are in the lives of many young African cyclists.

When you grow up in Eritrea you grow up a fan of road cycling. It’s just the way it is back home. It doesn’t matter if you race or not, over half the population of Asmara uses bikes to commute. My uncle and great uncle were also cyclists and they influenced me to do it. I grew up wanting to be just like Tom Boonen, cycling is in my blood and it is a passion I have had my entire life.

Comparing African Cycling To European

Some people don’t realize how much of a challenge it is to reach the top in Africa as compared to Europe. There are fewer opportunities in Africa, for example in Eritrea cyclists like Daniel Teklehaimanot or Nathanael Berhane will get more looks because they are very talented climbers. Daniel is already proving to the world the level of talent there is with Eritrean climbers but that doesn’t help me to move forward to where I want to go. Cycling is so big in Europe but I think Africa is finally catching up. The fan base is great and we have a great group of highly talented cyclists coming up and winning in Europe.

Despite such a young career, Teshome has picked up victories in the Tour of Rwanda, the Tour of Eritrea, the Eritrean National Championships, the African Games ITT in 2015 and the African Continental Championships TTT in 2013.

It’s not that I look at one win to be more important than another. They are all important to me. However, one that I will always cherish is the stage I won in the Tour of Rwanda, as Rwanda is a full of mountain country. That and the African Games ITT win was also special to me because I worked so hard to improve my TT skills. When I was with the MTN team in South Africa I learned a lot about being a professional racer. This is a sport centered around family because your team is your family but also because it really does take the support of your family back home to help you become the best possible cyclist.

Being a part of the Stradalli – Bike Aid family is very special for me. This has been a tough season to start, especially the Mallorca Challenge. However, when I look back to how far I’ve come in such a short period of time, I am now racing with a great team in some of big races and I get to race on the beautiful Aversa road bike from Stradalli, I know I’m very lucky to have these opportunities and I hope to make the most of them.

Welcome to UCI Tour of Eritrea, Africa

Stradalli – Bike Aid has landed in Eritrea to prepare for the upcoming Tour of Eritrea. Eritrea sits on the East Coast of Africa. The race will explore the entire country, from the mountainous inlands all the way to the Red Sea in the east.

Stradalli – Bike Aid will be using the Aversa for the Tour of Eritrea due to its versatility. The bike climbs well, but is also suitable for sprint finishes. More importantly, the frame will keep the riders comfortable on the rough roads of Eritrea.

The Tour of Eritrea covers 669 kilometers over 5 days of racing. Mekseb Debesay, formerly of what is now Stradalli – Bike Aid, won the Tour of Eritrea in 2013 the last time the race was hosted.

Stradalli – Bike Aid riders Meron Amanuel and Teshome Meron took 3^rd and 4^th place on the general classification during their last attendance at Tour of Eritrea.

Eritrea has historically been a country of turmoil, but the country is responsible for some of the most successful riders to arrive at the World Tour from Africa. Daniel Teklehaimanot, who has ridden for teams such as Orica GreenEDGE and is now currently with Dimension Data, is arguably the most successful Eritrean rider in history. Mekseb Debesay recently switched from Stradalli – Bike Aid to join Teklehaimanot at Dimension Data.

Stradalli – Bike Aid is now the team which hosts the most exciting, young talent to come out of Eritrea. Meron Teshome and Amanuel Mengis Ghebreindrias are just two Stradalli – Bike Aid riders from Eritrea, but they have already had many podium appearances in 2016.

The team is now doing race reconnaissance on the mountainous roads of Eritrea before beginning the 5 stage UCI 2.2 race which begins on April 19^th.

Stradalli-Bike Aid Racer Amanuel Mengis Finishes 2nd In 4th Stage of Tour of Cameroon

Again a pretty flat but fast stage at Tour of Cameroon with lots of attacks and hard fight to get the break. As from tomorrow on there will be more and more climbs, today’s goal was to save energy but still to try to keep a good position in the race. All STRADALLI – BIKE AID racers worked well together and in the final they did a great job by placing Amanuel in the front. But despite all riders worked well together it was not possible to bring back the last man from the break away and Amanuel finished 2^nd by winning the fild sprint!

The team remains confident for the upcoming days to have a fight with the current yellow jersey from Morocco!


“Hard day but great fun race , my Carbon Stradalli Aversa was immaculate super fast and stiff for a great field sprint win.

Stradalli-Bike Aid Racer Niko Holler Is A Leader On And Off The Road

The success of the Stradalli-Bike Aid team this season will be based on two things, their deep pool of young talent and their solid leadership. 

Pro racer Niko Holler falls into both of those categories. While he is still a young, up and coming racer in the cycling world, Niko has over 11 years of racing experience and is one of the veteran leaders of the Stradalli-Bike Aid team.

Stradalli-Bike Aid Finishes Great Challenge Mallorca To Start Off 2016 Season

For the Stradalli-Bike Aid the 2016 Challenge Mallorca finished with great experiences and lessons learned. The 161.5 kilometer Trofeo Playa de Palma – Palma presented more than a few challenges for the team on the last day of four challenging days of racing in Mallorca. Andre Greipel of Lotto Soudal would not be denied as once again he found his way to the top of the podium in a fast sprint finish. For Stradalli – Bike Aid team however, racing in Mallorca was about much more than just final results. The racers started 2016 at La Tropicale Amissa Bongo and had fantastic results in the country where the team is making a huge impact. One of the biggest accomplishments of Mallorca for this team was that they were able to bring along 2 African athletes with them to race with the top level teams. It is hard to fully appreciate the difference between Continental Professionals and World Tour Professionals. Stradalli – Bike Aid riders often found themselves under pressure from the top guys of World Tour racing. When Fabian Cancellara attacks, there is not much a continental professionals can do. When Team Sky takes the front and picks up the speed on the ascent of a mountain, everyone hurts from it. For the growth of Stradalli – Bike Aid, competing against teams such as Movistar and Trek – Segafredo is an opportunity to learn. Daniel Bichlmann and Timo Schafer found themselves in breakaways many times which nearly reached the finish. Every day was filled with ups and downs but each rider on the team gave it everything they had. For a brand new team with new bikes the Challenge Mallorca was truly a success for Stradalli-Bike Aid and the "Aversa" full carbon road bikes performed great.