Tsige and Tristan blaze through Diani heat to claim early dominance at African Championships
- Elias Makori
- Nov 20, 2025
- 3 min read
Diani, November 20, 2025
Ethiopia and Mauritius laid down early markers at the CAC Road Cycling African Championships in Diani, Kwale County, on Thursday morning claiming gold in the junior men’s and women’s Individual Time Trial (ITT) races.
Ethiopian Kiros Kahsay Tsige won the women's race in 19 minutes, 59.09 seconds ahead of Eritrea's Tesfu Adyam who was second clocking 20:09.80 with Rwanda's Yvonne Masengesho third in 20:30.22.
In the men's race, Hardy Tristan stopped the clock in 17:12.82 with Eritrea's Efriem Nahom in second place clocking 17:33.34 with South African Woolley Dean third in 17:34.03.
Tsige says she was well prepared to fight for a podium finish on Thursday morning.
"I was well prepared for the race and I knew I would finish on the podium today. This is my second time at the African championships, I was here last year in Eldoret where I won bronze," she stated.
However, the weather took a toll on the youngster who was more comfortable with the conditions when the championship was held in Eldoret and Iten last year.
"Here the weather was hotter compared to Eldoret," she noted.
Tsige who has already joined a European cycling team is now eyeing glory at the Tour de France Femmes in the near future.
“My dream was to join a European team which happened this year. I want to be the best rider from Ethiopia, the whole continent and also the Tour de France,” she said.
Adyam, meanwhile, was banking on Eritrea clinching gold and silver.
"It was my first time to run outside of Eritrea. We had been preparing for this event the whole year because we are the defending champions," she reacted.
"We had expected to bring home two medals, gold and silver but unfortunately my compatriot crashed with 500 metres to go," she said.
Meanwhile, Masengesho noted that before coming to the continental showpiece, she had tested herself at the UCI World Championship held in Rwanda in September.
"The experience was good. But the weather was very hot.
"This was my first African Championship but I had competed at the World Championships in Rwanda," she said.
Kenyan riders Mercy Eragae and Sharon Cheruiyot finished 10th and 12th respectively clocking 24:40.45 and 26:03.49.
Cheruiyot noted that she had prepared herself for a better finish at today’s race.
"The race was okay, the only challenge was the heat.
"I had prepared myself well hoping for the best but unfortunately that did not go as planned," Cheruiyot said.
The youngster who started cycling in 2021 says her next target is next year's continental showpiece.
"This is my first time to represent Kenya at the African championships. My target is to be at the next African Championships," she said.
Eragae who was making her second appearance at the continental showpiece after her appearance last year in Eldoret highlighted the difference in climate.
"The heat here is very intense as compared to that of Eldoret."
In the junior men's race, Tristan noted that the heat was a challenge.
"I think my performance was good, the only challenge was the heat but I was feeling very fast on the course."
"This was my second time at the African championships, I raced in Ghana two years ago and it was also hot just like here in Diani," Tristan said.
His preparations prior to coming to Diani were intense focusing on sharp acceleration.
"I did a whole season in France and one month ago I started focusing on preparations for this championship.
"My main area of focus in training was to ensure I had sharp acceleration," he added.
The Mauritian now shifts his focus to Sunday's junior road race.
"Now I want to recover well and be well prepared for the junior road race on Sunday."
In the men's junior race Kenyan Joseph Muiruri and Nicholas Amani finished 24th and 25th respectively clocking 21:56.50 and 22:58.52.
The 2025 CAC Road Cycling African Championships will be broadcast by NTV and KBC in Kenya and SuperSport across Africa.
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