Stradalli - Bike Aid Pro Team Heads Into UCI 2.2 Tour Of Eritrea

The UCI 2.2 Tour of Eritrea begins April 19^th and Stradalli – Bike Aid will be bringing a full team to compete at a race in a country that sits close to the heart of the team’s mission.

Eritrea, due to its Italian influence, is a cycling crazy country. Cycling is less of a hobby and more of a way of life for many Eritreans. Historically the country has been torn by war, disease and poverty. However, that hasn’t stopped Eritrea from ascending into the higher ranks of cycling.

Stradalli – Bike Aid will be in attendance with a full team of 6 cyclists, half of which are from Eritrea. Stradalli – Bike Aid has had several success stories of bringing riders from Africa and elevating them to the World Tour level. Past riders such as Mekseb Debesay, Eritrean professional rider for World Tour team Dimension Data, found their feet at the higher level with Stradalli – Bike Aid. Educating, training and providing opportunity for the African people was once a dream and is now reality for the German Continental Professional Team.

Teshome Meron, Amanuel Mengis and Meron Amanuel are the 3 Eritreans that will represent Stradalli – Bike Aid at the Tour of Eritrea. Of all the talent coming from Eritrea in the past few years, these few star riders are showing they are most exciting. Daniel Bichlmann, Dominik Merseburg and Matthias Schnapka will all be present to make up a top level team to compete for victory.

Amanuel Mengis, 21-year-old from Eritrea, began his season at the Challenge Mallorca racing against teams of the highest caliber. Trek – Segafredo took a win with Fabian Cancellara. Lotto Soudal took wins with Andre Greipel. Movistar, Team Sky and Francas de Jeux all were present showing off their early season form. Mengis was one of the youngest riders in the race and still proved he could perform with the best.

From Mallorca, Mengis traveled immediately to Vuelta a Andalucia Ruta Ciclista Del Sol where he was a constant presence in breakaways for Stradalli – Bike Aid. Mengis then brought his early season form to the Tour of Cameroon where finished in the top 10 in every stage, led the youth classification and took home the green points leaders jersey after 8 days of racing. Mengis is the first Eritrean to bring the Stradalli Carbon Aversa to a first place finish in a leader’s jersey competition.

The Tour of Cameroon is one of the most prestigious races on the UCI Africa Tour, but Eritrea is home for Mengis and several Stradalli – Bike Aid riders. The riders will have extra motivation to dominate their home race and show Eritrea is ready for the highest echelon of cycling. Cycling is the most watched sport in Eritrea. Weekend races have standout numbers in terms of attendance. Fans line the road for local races and beginner riders just entering the sport.

The accomplishments of Stradalli – Bike Aid have attracted attention internationally prompting everything from invites to larger races to television coverage in multiple countries. The Tour of Eritrea will be televised in several countries. Cycling aside, television networks in Germany will be broadcasting a human interest piece on Stradalli – Bike Aid and its riders, showing the genuine interest the public has in the mission behind the cycling team.

Eritrea, despite being a very small country, has already found its way to the top level of cycling. The Tour de France for many is the end goal of their cycling careers. Natnael Berhane of Team Dimension Data was the first Eritrean to achieve this goal, finishing 51^st in his first Tour de France and wore the polka dot climbers jersey for several stages during the race. For a small country, this is a huge achievement.

The question for the future will be whether Eritrea can make an even greater impact on the sport. The highest point in Eritrea sits at 2600 meters altitude and with Eritrea being such a cycling crazy country it seems Eritrea is poised to begin producing top athletes.

They may lack in resources, but they do not lack heart. Stradalli – Bike Aid’s mission is to give people such as these opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have. All the African riders on Stradalli – Bike Aid have been top performers this year and Tour of Eritrea is the next stop on the journey to success in 2016. 

Robbie Hunter, former Garmin – Sharp rider from South Africa, now spends his time helping develop young African riders. Hunter has won stages in the Vuelta a Espana and at the Tour de France. His experience gives him an eye for talent. Cycling is crazy in Eritrea and many fans line the streets on race day. This is like a pro tour race just amazing atmosphere and the love for cycling

STRADALLI – BIKE AID TEAM LEARNS GREAT LESSON AT CHALLENGE MALLORCA

Today in the third stage of the Challenge Mallorca, Trofeo Serra de Tramuntana, the Stradalli – Bike Aid team got an education and understanding of what truly separates a continental team from a multi-million dollar World Tour Team.

The race included more than 9000 feet of climbing into a 149.9 kilometer (88.5 mile) stage. At first you would think the racers would take it easy with a start like that. Not if you were on one of the World Tour Teams. They attacked early and kept going. The Stradalli-Bike Aid riders had a max wattage of over 700 watts in only the first 6 kilometers. 

The stage started with a 4.5 ascent of the Col de Soller which had sections that were so steep that many of the team cars could barely make it up the mountain in second gear. It was an incredibly challenging day filled with competitive racing. Stradalli – Bike Aid rider Daniel Bichlmann wasn't intimidated by the mountain and began the first breakaway of the day with one Russian rider for 6 kilometers, but despite the tremendous effort in the race the world tour teams took over. 

Tom Steinbacher, title sponsor owner for Stradalli – Bike Aid, wasn't disappointed with the results and applauded the team for their efforts. 

“When you go against the best in the world all you can ask for from your team is that they give it everything they have and that's exactly what the Stradalli-Bike Aid team did this race. They left it all out there and I am very proud of them.” Steinbacher said.

Steinbacher feels that the experience in Mallorca will help the team throughout the year as they learned a lot about themselves, how to battle, how to race with the big teams and much more. 

“We are a young team with a lot to learn, but the guys show they are up to the challenge. They constantly battled and showed tremendous heart. They are grateful for everything whether it's the bikes, the sponsors and the opportunity to compete against teams like Team Sky, Lotto Soudal, Ettix – Quick Step and Team Dimension Data.” Steinbacher said.

Steinbacher feels that the racers are improving after every race.