Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier: "We will soon see a competitive African and he will be Eritrean"

Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier (Addis Ababa, 26 years old), is one of the African runners who are opening their way to their continent in the WorldTour as a Trek-Segafredo rider. The Eritrean is an ambassador of Eritrea in the world peloton, a country that in passion for cycling can compete with Belgium or the Netherlands.

"In Eritrea, the bicycle is part of our daily life. It is the favorite game of many children and the means by which thousands of people, every day, move. The bicycle is like an island of happiness in Africa. The consequence This passion is that cycling, for so many years, has been the most popular sport in the country, "says Amanuel on his team's website.

As a child, Ghebreigzabhier, a two-time national champion and an African champion, used to sit on the side of the road in Asmara, the Eritrean capital, to watch competitions. It was in this city where he was born and where he began to love cycling based on seeing his then idols. So the bike was just a game.

When I was already a teenager, my point of view changed. A friend of his practiced mountain biking and accompanied him in training. His favorite sport became cycling in a more serious way. Just two years later, he joined the leading national cycling club, As.Be.Co, and started racing. I was 15 years old.

CYCLING IN ERITREA, A VEST OF COLONIAL ITALY

Cycling emerged in Eritrea as a holdover from colonial Italy and is a sport that is already part of its modern culture. The bicycle awakens passion, as well as competitions. With the new millennium, this country settled on the world cycling map.

"The growth of the MTN-Qhubeka project, the first team in Africa, attracted many people to follow the races on television. My colleagues and I followed the most important races together. The North Classics are the tests that I liked the most and I They like them, but the Tour de France is the most followed event and the most important. You can't imagine the excitement that Eritrean riders like Daniel Teklehaimanot, Merhawi Kudus and Natnael Berhane awaken. "

Then it was time to leave the Eritrean borders to compete with the national team, where he found the measure of his potential. New worlds had to be crossed to get to know each other better.

"In 2013 I raced the Tour of Rwanda and the following year, at the age of 20, I won the national title, the most beautiful cycling memory I have so far."

In 2014 he ran the World Championship in Ponferrada, and participated in the most important competitions in Africa. He learned so much that he raised the bar on his ambitions.

"I have always tried to set concrete goals in my life and once I have achieved them I have created new ones. In 2016, I was ready for a new leap forward, joining the Dimension Data development team and moving to Europe."

Outside of Eritrea his life has always been marked by the rhythms of cycling. He lived in a house that the team had in Lucca, Italy.

"We were all young and ambitious guys. We helped each other; it was a great experience. Our passion for cycling was the key that helped us adapt to a new country. Italy has a great cycling culture and we feel comfortable with it. However, without disrespecting my Italian friends, between Italy and Eritrea, there is a gulf when it comes to cycling: riding in Asmara is a paradise compared to Lucca!

Thanks to cycling, Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier has been able to travel often through Europe and Africa, he has known other parts of the world, something that fascinates him, although sometimes nostalgia weighs heavily.

With his philosophy of going step by step, Amanuel earned a place among the professionals in 2018 with the passage of the Dimension Data team to the WorldTour. Then, in 2021, he joined the Trek-Segafredo family.

"In the last three years I have raced in increasingly important tests and I have learned in the great tours. I will always be grateful to the Dimension Data team but I looked for a new challenge with the Trek-Segafredo, a team where there is a feeling of globality. Thanks to the presence of various nationalities, languages ​​and cultures. It's something special. "

In just a few years, Amanuel faced his personal challenge to become a determined and successful professional cyclist. Now his hope is to see other Eritrean and African cyclists following the same path.

SOON WE WILL SEE A COMPETITIVE AFRICAN, AND ... IT WILL BE ERITREO!

"Cycling is no longer a fringe sport in Africa and I am part of the second generation of African cyclists. Year after year, the number of cyclists increases. It is a continuous process, but the speed of growth will largely depend on strength, the capacity and options of national federations.

"I think Africa is a beautiful continent for cycling. If I think of my home country, there are ideal conditions for professionals, including roads, the reduced presence of cars and natural factors such as altitude (Asmara has an altitude of 2,300 meters Also, that's why, although I like to stay in Europe, I go home as soon as I can, about every three months. "

For Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, the path is laid for a future explosion of African cycling. "It won't be long before we see a competitive African rider on a big lap. And I am convinced he will be an Eritrean!"