Mekseb Debesay and Stradalli-Bike Aid Racer Amanuel Mengis At Vuelta Andalucia

Friends and countrymen Mekseb Debesay of team Dimension Data and Amanuel Mengis of Stradalli-Bike Aid are proudly representing their home country of Eritrea at the Vuelta Andalucia. Mengis is off to a great start this season for Stradalli-Bike Aid following in the footsteps of Debseay who is in his first year with World Tour Team Dimension Data after racing last season with Bike Aid. 

Stradalli - Bike Aid Gears Up For La Tropicale Amissa Bongo

The beginning of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is closing in. January 18, 2016 the UCI 2.1 status race features some of the best teams in the world. More importantly it is the most prestigious race in Africa and it is the first race on the calendar for Stradalli-Bike Aid.

         For the 10th straight year the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo will be held in Gabon, Africa.  This race consists of 7 stages. 3 stages that will take the riders on a tour through the hillier parts of Eastern Gabon. 1 stage is an individual time trial and the rest of the stages will be held near the flat coastline of West Gabon.

          Competing with Stradalli-Bike Aid for the race are teams representing countries from each region of Africa as well as Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team.

          La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is one of the few races during the season that amateur African cycling teams have the chance to race with professional teams who race a full UCI calendar. The race focuses on developing African cycling, which makes it a large target for Stradalli-Bike Aid.

          Timo Schafer, team leader for Stradalli-Bike Aid, said La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is the perfect place to begin the season and debut the new racing team.

          “This was the most successful and exciting off season in team history between training in the United States and all around Europe, the new racers we have added to the team and the new sponsorship with Stradalli Cycle. Having the support of a great sponsor makes you even more optimistic about the upcoming season and we are excited to see what the new members of the team can do as well. Now we get to go to Gabon, Africa to show how serious we are about our mission to develop African cycling.” Schafer said.

          Stradalli - Bike Aid has had several success stories including Mekseb Debesay, a Eritrean professional cyclist. Dimension Data, UCI World Tour Professional Team, bought Debesay from Stradalli-Bike Aid because of his performances over the course of 2015. Debesay is just one success story of the Stradalli-Bike Aid team and Dimension Data are not the only major players who have noticed.

          Matthias Schnapka, professional rider for Stradalli-Bike Aid, feels that the new sponsorship which includes Aversa full carbon road bikes, is going to make a big difference for the upcoming season.

          “We have been training with our new bikes for a couple of months and they are fantastic. Every pro cyclist in the world will tell you about the importance of having reliable equipment when competing at such a high level. I know I speak for the whole team when I say the support from FSA - Full Speed Ahead has been outstanding. I can say the same for Prologo Seats. Having these big companies like those go out of their way to support us is very special.” Schnapka said.

          

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)

Stradalli Cycle - Bike Aid Will Continue Inspiring Charity Work In Africa

You may not know the difference between a Wal-Mart bicycle and a full carbon road bike but you do know about the devastation and poverty that is day to day life in many countries of Africa. There are hundreds of charitable organizations trying to help and a great example is Bike Aid, a German cycling club with over 600 members who help to bring aspiring cyclists to Europe.

The Conti Team has races all over the globe in hopes to raise awareness of their cause and in only two years they have real success stories they can be proud of. Mekseb Debesay, one of the young cyclists from Africa who was given an opportunity to race in Europe because of Bike Aid has signed on to be a teammate of Mark Cavendish for team Dimension Data in the World Tour.

“The story of Debesay is a great success for him as well as for our cause. It is always a challenge to try and educate people on what you are doing and why they should support you but when you have true success stories you can start showing them results for their efforts. With the success of the program we are getting more attention and help than we ever thought possible in such a short period of time and we are excited that 2016 is expected to be our biggest season yet with more African cyclist on the team than before and we will also have the help of our new title and bike sponsor Stradalli Cycle from America.” Bike Aid Racer Spokesman Matthias Schnapka

The full carbon bike manufacturer from Florida has been looking to sponsor a Conti Team for a while but took a special interest in Bike Aid because of what they represent. 

You can read more about the Stradalli Cycle - Bike Aid Conti Team as well as their cause and updates during the 2016 racing season. 

Bike Aid Concept Showing Results In Their Second Year

Mekseb Debesay is officially a teammate of Mark Cavendish in the World Tour.

After 2 years of hard work, the most successful rider of the Conti team will now be riding side by side with Mark Cavendish in team Dimension Data, formerly known as MTN-Qhubeka, for the 2016 racing season.

Eric Haus, President of Bike Aid, said that this proves the teams goals are being accomplished exactly as they hoped for. 

“This is truly a success story that has turned out just as we have hoped it would. Mekseb is well respected and one of the most popular cyclists on the African continent. He has won many victories for our team. We used our media work and our racing calendar as a platform for our successes. The leap from our team to the highest class of cycling is exactly what we want to achieve in our project for African riders,” Haus said.

Bike Aid has has had similar success last year with Dan Craven, who successfully completed the Vuelta a Espana in 2014 with Team Europcar.

Timo Schafer, Team Coordinator for Bike Aid, is looking forward to working with the new riders for 2016.

“Mekseb leaving does create a big gap for the team, but this also creates an oppurtunity for the young racers looking to have a shot next year. We have a number of new African talents for 2016 and we are excited to see how it will evolve in the team, and hopefully we will see more success stories.” Shafer said.

The Stradalli-Bike Aid Continental Cycling Team is the first professional cycling team in Saarland, Germany. Stradalli Bike-Aid promotes and stands for fresh, honest cycling with a socially sustainable background. The team competes annually in more than 100 races on all continents and has already achieved considerable international success with multiple podium appearances.

The Stradalli-Bike Aid Continental Team promotes talented athletes from Africa by helping them to fulfill their lifelong dreams of racing in Europe. They assist with sports training, education and internship offers as a cultural exchange program. Stradalli-Bike Aid plans to make cycling a fascinating experience for as many individuals as possible, regardless of their social and cultural backgrounds.