Already next Tuesday, the team will start with numerous World Tour teams at the Tour of Saudi Arabia (UCI 2.1) on the Arabian Peninsula, which belongs to Asia. At the race organized by the Tour de France organizer, just three continental teams received an invitation, a special award for BIKE AID.
Shortly afterwards, the Tour of Tigrai Region (Nat.) follow in Africa. Although the race has no UCI status, it “only” belongs to the national calendar of the Ethiopian Cycling Federation. But the experience value will be all the higher, like Saudi Arabia it is the first trip for our team to Ethiopia. We will surely have great pictures and exciting stories to tell.
At the end of February, our team was running two races in parallel. BIKE AID starts for the third time in a row at the Tour of Antalya (UCI 2.1), which is part of the UCI Europe Tour. A very professionally organized tour with stages along the Turkish Riviera and a mountain arrival on the Taurus Mountains. Meanwhile, our team almost feels at home in the area; the hospitality of the Turks, the landscape and the good hotels all contributed to this.
A special highlight will be the Tour du Rwanda (UCI 2.1), where the team will travel to Africa again. We have already reported a lot about this race in the past. Unmatched spectator enthusiasm, breathtaking the landscape with its 1,000 mountains. The race has now become the most important cycling race on the African continent and has contributed to Rwanda being the first country in Africa to make it into an official selection round to host a World Cycling Championship.
A big thank you to the organizers, who make it possible for our team to take part, and our sporting directors and staff, who will be doing an absolute hard work over the next few weeks.
Roster Tour of Saudi Arabia (DS Timo Schäfer):
Lucas Carstensen, Erik Bergström Frisk, Sulaiman Kangangi, Jesse de Rooij, Clint Hendricks, Justin Wolf, Nikodemus Holler
Roster Tour of Tigrai Region (DS Xavier Debecker):
Daniel Bichlmann, Adne van Engelen, Clint Hendricks, Salim Kipkemboi, Charles Kagimu
Roster Tour of Antalya (DS Bart Buijk):
Daniel Bichlmann, Adne van Engelen, Aaron Grosser, Frederik Dombrowski, Erik Bergström Frisk, Lucas Carstensen
Roster Tour du Rwanda (DS Yves Beau):
Nikodemus Holler, Mekseb Debesay, Matthias Schnapka, Suleiman Kangangi, Salim Kipkemboi