Team Amani is born: Africa can look forward to its first continental women's team in history!

The 2026 season in women's cycling is going to be historic for one reason in particular. The first African continental UCI team has been created by Team Amani. The potential of this squad is very high, setting very ambitious goals for the coming years of competition at the most demanding level.

This new team is based in Ethiopia. Its roster will include riders from the African country itself, as well as Rwanda and other countries on the eastern side of the continent.

As mentioned, this Team Amani dreams big, as by 2028 it wants to be competing in the main races of the UCI World Tour calendar: Tour de France, Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España for women.

The team should begin racing in Europe as soon as during the 2026 spring classics.

Veteran South African cyclist Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio will join this team as a mentor and ambassador for the time being as she is still under contract at AG Insurance - Soudal for the time being. Presenting the team at Rouleur Live, the 35-year-old has made statements collected by CyclingWeekly in which she has spoken about this ambitious project. Xaverine Nirere, Rwanda's national individual time trial champion, has been confirmed as a part of the project.

"As a pioneer of African women's cycling, reaching this stage of my career feels like the right time for me to give back and help the next generation of African talent to reach the highest level," Moolman-Pasio explained her personal motivation to get behind this project.

"When I was introduced to Team Amani earlier this year, I was deeply inspired by the vision of the project. Instead of following the traditional model of sending African cyclists to Europe and expecting them to adapt, Amani is building a high-performance infrastructure in Africa, where the cyclists feel at home, supported by their own cultures and communities, and then creating pathways to Europe in a sustainable way."

"Having seen firsthand their level of talent, I am convinced that their potential is huge.... I am proud to play an active role in helping them develop that potential and to see African women compete in the world's top races in the coming years," she added.

Co-founder Mikel Delagrange has also commented on the creation of Team Amani:

"Establishing this team with ambitions to race competitively in the biggest races in the world within three years feels like a watershed moment for our project," said the team co-founder. "We’ve always believed that with like-for-like resources our athletes could compete with the best… Our message to the young women on our team is that the only limitation they have now is that of their own imaginations."