Nancy Akinyi Debe will lead other forty two Kenyans are set to compete at the Africa Road Cycling championships set to traverse the three counties of North Rift next month.
The race which was launched today will be hosted in Uasin Gishu, Nandi and Elgeyo Marakwet that has attracted 20 nations Eritrean Tour de France Green Jersey champion Biniam Girmay leading the cyclists that will be held between October 9-13 in Eldoret City.
The trials will start on October 9 with Junior, Under-23 and Elite races for both men and women where Junior women compete in 11.2km circuit within Eldoret City as male juniors and women U23s and Elites will cover 22.4km.
Then the U23 men and elite will cover 33.8km with women U23 and Elite road will be held on October 12 with male U23.
The ladies will battle it out on a challenging 104km parkour starting in Eldoret and finishing in Iten. The men will encounter a similar route, but instead take two tours of the long loop for a total of 157km.
In between the time trials and road races, the ever-exiting Mixed Relay Time Trial will be held on Thursday, October 10 with Friday 11 being the day for the junior road races
Team Kenya captain Debe expressed confidence the local cyclists will perform well.
This marks the first time the continental cycling championship will be held in Kenya. Last year’s edition took place in Ghana
Speaking during the launch, Sports Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the event will broaden Kenya’s participation in global sports disciplines.
“It is important to note that Kenya did not present any cycling to the Paris 2024 Olympics, except for one in Paralympics. This indicates the need for a most strategic focus on developing our cycling talent to compete globally,” said Murkomen.