Watch: Mbogi Amani | It’s time to change the face of cycling
After the success of the Migration Gravel Race, 13 East African riders now have the opportunity to compete at off-road events around the world under the banner of Team Amani. This is their story.
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The inaugural Migration Gravel Race in Kenya last June was an experiment. A test of the hypothesis that, if aspiring pros from Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda were given a chance to race European and North American talent on their own continent, they might realize what was possible for themselves on a world stage.
Since then, many of the riders who participated in the gravel race have continued to try the theory — which is evidence itself that something is working. From Kenneth Karaya’s 2021 Cape Epic partnership with EF Education-EasyPost’s Lachlan Morton to Geoffrey Langat’s recent second place at the Race Around Rwanda, the riders of the newly formed Team Amani squad continue to launch off the springboard of the MGR.
This year the Amani Project — the coalition behind the MGR and this year’s inaugural Evolution Gravel — is helping to chart the course of 13 East African riders at events like Gravel Locos, SBT GRVL, and Gravel Worlds in the US, as well as bikepacking ultras like Badlands and the Atlas Mountain Race.
Here, get to know the riders and why this experiment deserves to be tested.