Team Amani makes European debut with Tour de France Femmes ambitions

Wango Alfred

Can a fully African team really hope to race in the Tour de France Femmes within the next three years? That was the ambition set out by the East African Team Amani late last year when it announced that the UCI Continental women’s team would move to race in Europe for the 2026 season.

Last week, the team made its European debut in France at two one-day races in the Morbihan department in Brittany. Present alongside the squad made up of Ethiopian, Ugandan and Rwandan riders were several ProTeams, riders who have tasted success at some of the world’s biggest races.

For Team Amani’s troupe of talented cyclists, this is all new. For most, it’s a first venture outside of Africa, and the challenges have already stacked against them, with illness delaying their racing start as well as adjusting to different weather conditions and the new culture around them.

The gap between where the team is now and the Tour de France Femmes appears vast, but it’s this height of ambition that has turned Amani into perhaps Africa’s most successful development initiative of the past few years.

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Opportunities to compete at this level for riders from Africa, particularly women, are scarce. A lack of quality racing opportunities, combined with financial needs, cultural expectations and travel restrictions, makes succeeding at the highest levels of cycling exponentially more difficult for these riders. There were no stand-out results in these first two races, but there were important lessons learned by all.

“I believe we can make it [to the Tour de France Femmes],” said Ugandan Mary Aleper, speaking in a group interview translated by sports director and former men’s WorldTour rider Tsgabu Grmay. “We have strong girls. The way we're bringing in strong athletes and getting results – I believe the team will be there one day. When you see the results coming – someone already finishing in the top 40s – and if you give them race experience like this, by the end of the season they'll be confident riding with the big pelotons. Next year we will be competing with the big teams.”

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