Outspoken - Team Amani

S1 EP10 - The idea behind the AMANI project is simple - they try to create cycling opportunities for talented rides from East Africa. At least, that was the plan, till COVID-19. The travel restrictions have forced them to reconsider their model and search for ways to achieve their goals of greater inclusivity in the sport in an environment where no races are taking place and international travel is restricted. That’s when they decided to take a closer look at the e-racing. Why e-racing? Following many conversations with partners and a few trial runs, they came to see e-racing as a potential game-changer, a leveller, an opportunity for much greater inclusivity. How? Namely, through e-racing they can showcase the talent of many of our riders to the world without incurring the costs associated with travel and stay in Europe. Less costs means more opportunities for up and coming riders. In addition, they see it as a brilliant development tool for talent scouting with hard data and standardised testing methods now suddenly accessible at the village level. That brings us to the The #RideOnline Campaign. The Objective: to get as many African cycling clubs and teams racing together online as soon as possible. The Plan: First, together with their partner Team Africa Rising, they are going to start by outfitting our three sister team clubhouses in Iten (Kenya), Kigali (Rwanda) and Masaka (Uganda) with e-trainers so as to extend e-racing and e-training opportunities to all riders on those respective teams. Second, using their Team Amani X Africa Rising Intercontinental Series event on Zwift, they hope to link all of these riders together on a single platform so as to provide a venue for networking amongst the riders and a space to demonstrate their collective strength. Third, members from Team Amani (Europe) will support the best riders from each of the sister teams under the umbrella of a single (e)Team Amani and try and win as many races as possible to showcase the individual talents of those riders in the network. We sat down with Mikel Delagrange who is one of the creators to discuss all of the above and much much more Link to the Zwift event: https://www.zwift.com/events/view/868182?__znl=en-eu Team Amani: www.teamamani.com @teamamani on Insta The Migration (Gravel event): @ride_migration on Insta (website coming soon) Lola Bikes and Coffee (team clubhouse, etc.) www.lolabikesandcoffee.nl @lolabikesandcoffee on Insta Links to Sister Clubs/Teams Rwanda: Team Africa Rising @africarisingcycling https://teamafricarising.org/ Kenya: Kenya Riders @kenya_riders https://kenyanriderssafaricom.com/ Uganda: Masaka Cycling Club @masakacyclingclub https://thehiddenathlete.com.au/masaka-cycling-club/