Nsengimana Still in Reach - Tour du Rwanda

While Meron Amanuel took with his 7th place today another Top Ten result for STRADALLI - BIKE AID, the Rwandan Jean-Bosco Nsengimana stays in reach for the GC with just 1:27 down on leader Valens Ndayisenga

It is called the "country of the thousand hills" and that has a reason. Every day the guys have to fight with endless kilometers of uphill roads and suffer a lot on Rwanda's roads. While the African riders from Rwanda and Eritrea dictate the tempo in the hills, the European riders have to work very hard to follow them.

STRADALLI - BIKE AID rider Jean-Bosco Nsengimana knows the roads very well and is every day in the top of the race, so he currently ranks 4th in the GC with just 1.27 minute down on Valens Ndayisenga - also from Rwanda. The upcoming days will bring dramatic fight for the GC where Jean-Bosco will definitely have a word to say until the race finishes on Kigali's roads on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Meron Amanuel could show an impressive final today and sprint to a good 7th place when Rwandan rider Joseph Areruya took the stage win.

Meron Amanuel takes lead in KOM classification - Tour du Rwanda 1st stage

On today's first stage of Tour du Rwanda, Meron Amanuel from STRADALLI - BIKE AID took the lead in climbers classification while Jean-Bosco Nsengimana now ranks on 3rd in GC with 1 second behind.

After 96,4 hilly kilometers from Kigali to Ngoma, the Canadian Guillaume Boivin from Cycling Academy Team won the final sprint out of a 19 man front group that managed to break away 30 kilometers from the finish. Also in this group, STRADALLI - BIKE AID leader Jean - Bosco Nsengimana who came in with the same time and now sits on 3rd place overall with just 1 second down.
"Now it is a perfect situation for us and Bosco, as the gap is just 1 second and the responsibility to control the race is on the Rwandan team, so we can be relaxed and wait for the right time", Yves Beau (Sporting Director of STRADALLI - BIKE AID) said.

The Eritrean Meron Amanuel won the only KOM of the day and overtook the leaders jersey that he will wear on tomorrow's second stage.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

The Tour of Eritrea began with a bang for Stradalli – Bike Aid after they put Amanuel Meron on the podium after 117 kilometers of racing, but Stradalli – Bike Aid’s time in Eritrea began far before the 2016 edition was even thought about.

Stradalli – Bike Aid is well known for their charity work in Africa and much of the work is done inside the borders of Eritrea. Before the race, Stradalli – Bike Aid spent time exploring the roads of Eritrea and spending time with local youth.

Eritrea is known for its difficulties regarding poverty and war. Most wouldn’t guess Eritrea is a cycling-crazy country. Americans dream of being professional football players or perhaps going to the NBA. In Eritrea, the dream is cycling and those that reach the World Tour are forever heroes in their country.

3 of the 6 African riders on Stradalli – Bike Aid are from Eritrea and all 3 were present every day to race in their home country. These Eritrean riders are not just filling the pack. These are young rock stars. These are the top athletes Eritrea has to offer and they proved it every day in Eritrea with a podium or top 10 finish.

Amanuel Meron opened the account for Stradalli – Bike Aid with a 3^rd place finish in a very tight sprint finish in stage 1. Amanuel Meron repeated this finish on stage 2 in the process of helping Meron Teshome of Stradalli – Bike Aid take a commanding win in the sprint finish in Agordat. Stage 3 was more mountainous and less suitable to the team of expert sprinters at Stradalli – Bike Aid, but Amanuel Meron still finish at the front of the main group. However, the team didn’t take it easy for long.

Stage 4 was a déjà vu for the peloton as Stradalli – Bike Aid again took 2 of the top 5 spots. Amanuel Meron and the team knew the sprint leaders jersey was well within reach. Meron Teshome returned the favor helping Amanuel Meron onto the podium while finishing fourth on the day.

The sprinters may be the stars of the race, but they could not accomplish these results without top notch teamwork. The rest of the team, which includes Eritrean rider Amanuel Mengis Ghebreindrias, and German riders Dominik Merseburg, Daniel Bichlmann and Matthias Schnapka worked tirelessly to put the team in the best possible position for the win. They do it all on the Stradalli Aversa to handle the tough roads of Eritrea.

Such is the case for Stradalli – Bike Aid on and off the bike. The team works constantly to continue their mission in Africa to provide opportunities for less-fortunate people. Many Africans would never have the opportunity to be educated, let alone have easy access to clean drinking water and nutritious food.

Stage 5 ended in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. The team had done more than enough to cement their victory in the sprint points competition. The team took home the green leaders jersey and gave Eritrean cycling fans the opportunity to spend time with their cycling heroes. Now the team is in Germany to continue their European campaign.

Many say the level of cycling in Africa is not as high as Europe, but this is not the case. African cycling is full of incredible athletes and the team is well prepared for Eschborn – Frankfurt after a long stint in Africa and several tune up races in Germany.

The Tour of Eritrea was a success. Wins aside, the team got back to its roots and it was a healthy reminder to the riders why they race. Stradalli – Bike Aid does not race their bicycles just to race. Stradalli – Bike Aid Continental Professional team is a family and they are proving every day they have the work ethic to succeed.

Stradalli – Bike Aid Continental Professional Team has been on a hot streak the past few weeks in Europe and Africa.

Stradalli – Bike recently travelled to the Tour of Eritrea, where they not only took many podium places, but finished off a successful week by taking home the green jersey with Amanuel Meron for the best sprinter competition. The team worked flawlessly throughout the week to position their sprinters to give them the best possible chance at stage wins.

Though the team did not win every stage, the team was the most consistent giving them the reward of the green jersey in the UCI 2.2 Tour of Eritrea. This was a huge success for the team.

Immediately after the finish of the Tour of Eritrea, the team returned to Germany to prepare for the upcoming UCI 1.HC Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn – Frankfurt. The team has been participating in races around Germany to and most recently put two riders on the podium the Uberherrner National German Professional race, the team’s opener for Eschborn – Frankfurt.

Eschborn – Frankfurt is one of the toughest races in Germany. The previous edition was won by Alexander Kristoff, classic specialist from Team Katusha who has won Milan – San Remo and The Tour of Flanders.

Former winner John Degenkolb of Giant – Alpecin will make his return to racing at Eschborn – Frankfurt this Sunday after recovering from injuries suffered from a terrible accident whilst training in Australia early in 2016. Degenkolb, who won Milan – San Remo and Paris – Roubaix in 2015, has been off the bike since January and enters Eschborn – Frankfurt with the intent of finishing the race.

The 27-year-old from Gera, East Germany has been with Giant – Alpecin since it was in its professional continental form, Argos – Shimano in 2012. Since he has won 10 stages of the Vuelta a Espana and several important spring classic races. Argos – Shimano was also the home for our recent podium finisher Niko Holler. Holler and Degenkolb were teammates in 2012 and will race together this weekend again at Eschborn – Frankfurt. Since 2012, Holler has grown to be a team leader and challenge the general classification in UCI races all over Europe, Africa and Asia.

Eschborn – Frankfurt will be televised throughout Europe this Sunday and will feature other UCI World Tour teams such as Etixx – Quickstep and AG2r La Mondiale as well. Stradalli – Bike Aid will use the carbon aero Aversa frame exclusively for this race. The temperatures in Germany have been freezing and below for the past week, which means the racing this weekend will see the riders compete in some of the toughest, snowy conditions Germany has to offer.

Stradalli – Bike Aid wins stage 2 of the UCI 2.2 Tour of Eritrea.

The 179 kilometer stage from Tesseney to Agordat featured significant elevation change, but that didn’t deter the peloton from riding hard. Attacks started as soon as the riders left the start line. Stradalli – Bike Aid controlled the race with excellent teamwork throughout the day.

After Amanuel Meron’s podium finish in stage 1, the team knew he could provide a result. Amanuel Meron would be the most protected rider throughout the day due to his high general classification placing. Meron Teshome, however, is the better sprinter.

The two riders worked together to shepherd themselves in a fast final after a tough day of racing. Meron Teshome took the win, proving his sprinting ability at the highest level. Amanuel Meron followed closely behind in 3^rd place giving Stradalli – Bike Aid two riders on the podium of stage 2 of Tour of Eritrea.

The Eritrean riders have special motivation to race well in their home country, but the entire Stradalli – Bike Aid team and their management are working hard to ensure success at the Tour of Eritrea. Many of their riders are native to Eritrea and it is the place where the Stradalli – Bike Aid mission of creating a better future for those who are less fortunate began.

The Stradalli – Bike Aid team is currently using the full carbon Aversa frame because of its ability to perform well under a variety of conditions. The Tour of Eritrea will feature technical roads, fast sprint finishes and high mountains.

The Tour of Eritrea continues tomorrow with Stage 3 from Keren to Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. The stage will cover 93k, but it is mountainous. This stage will be the first opportunity for the real climbers of Stradalli – Bike Aid to show their talent.

Meron “Sunshine” Amanuel takes 5th place at UCI 1.2 Fenkel Challenge in Eritrea

Races in Africa are always something special for our team. We already have been reporting a lot about that and due to the special mission of the team – to develop African cycling and athletes – races on this continent are a special interest. This time there is no more superlative. The team is now in Eritrea which has a very special meaning indeed to the team. Eritrea is unique, it is a special country and a huge adventure. The first riders from Africa in the team were riders from Eritrea. It has a bit from: back to the roots!

What makes it so special to be in Eritrea? This small country is located on Africa’s east coast, right at the Red Sea and shares border with countries such as Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia but has a big and unique cycling tradition and history. The Italians brought this culture to this country during the colonial times beginning of the 20^th century. Nowadays cycling has a similar or even bigger meaning to the people in Eritrea than Football in our country. You can imagine that every little kid dreams of a big cycling career and talks about their legends and heroes. Not only names like Eddy Merckx or Miguel Indurain are popular, it is more the fact that their own heroes such as Daniel Teklehaimanot and our other former rider Mekseb Debesay – who made it from BIKE AID to the World Tour – are the idols of today’s generation in Eritrea.

Now our guys are there and are allowed to feel this special atmosphere and enthusiasm that is not easy at all to describe. The riders experience many nice and positive people in a country, which gives you astonishing moments.

The first of 4 UCI races has been held yesterday and led over 113 kilometers from the city of Foro to Ghindae. There is always an estimation in Europe that races in Africa are not on a high level, but this is completely wrong when you have ever done races there. In countries like Eritrea, Rwanda or in Northern Africa you find a huge potential and huge talent of riders who all grow to fulfill their dream of becoming a famous cyclist outside of their country. The only thing they don’t have: experience and the opportunity to show their talent outside or in Europe. From a point of motivation, there is no single word to describe that as this kind of motivation and passion simply not exists in our countries. Only in Eritrea there are 1.000 junior riders dreaming to become stars in the cycling world.

 If you take the conditions for instance, it is also very hard for European riders to compete as the capital Asmara is located on altitude of 2.400 m sea level.  Not that easy to get enough of oxygen that is so important to deliver a good performance.

Fortunately there are also 3 Eritrean riders in our team Stradalli – BIKE AID who are perfectly adapted to those conditions. Yesterday it was Meron Amanuel who managed the conditions the best of the team and finished on a great 5^th place just beaten by 37 seconds back on the winner!

Also Meron Teshome delivered a good performance on 11^th place. All in all a good opening of an interesting and unique week that needs to be followed!