African Road Cycling Championships open in Kisumu, Kenya, with time trials; 175.2km elite men's road race on 25 October

The 2026 CAC African Road Cycling Championships opened in Kisumu on 21 October with individual time trials for junior, under-23 and elite riders, according to the programme published by the Confederation of African Cycling (CAC). Five days of racing end on 25 October with the elite and under-23 men's road race over 175.2 kilometres.

Kenya is hosting the continental championships for the third straight year, after Eldoret in 2024 and Kwale in 2025, Citizen Digital reported on 8 October. The state-run Kenya News Agency (KNA) said on 20 October that 32 countries and 354 riders had entered, a record by its count, up from 30 countries and 320 riders at the previous edition. The Belgian sports marketing and events agency Golazo is organising the championships.

All races start and finish in Kisumu, and only riders selected by their national federations may take part. The programme for 21 October (local time) lists the junior women's 10.2km time trial from 9am and the junior men's 20.4km from 9:50am. Elite and under-23 women cover 30.6km from 1pm, and the elite and under-23 men's 40.8km time trial is scheduled from 2:30pm to 5:54pm.

The mixed relay for elite and under-23 riders, over 40.8km, opens racing on 22 October at 9am. The youth road races follow: 58.6km for men from 10:30am and 38.2km for women from 2:45pm. KNA describes these as the under-17 races. On 23 October junior women race 68.8km from 9am and junior men 119.8km from 1pm.

A 20.4km social ride, listed as a fun event, sets off at 9am on 24 October, followed at 12:30pm by the 122.2km road race for elite and under-23 women. The men's elite and under-23 road race on 25 October starts at 11:30am and is scheduled to finish at 3:57pm.

Riders are competing for continental titles and Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) points, which count towards Olympic qualification. Medal ceremonies are held daily from 21 to 25 October. SuperSport is due to broadcast the final two hours of racing live on 24 and 25 October, and Kenyan broadcasters NTV and KBC also have rights to show the championships live. Roads on the race routes are closed temporarily, with police and motorcycle marshals directing traffic and detours in place.

Eritrea swept the junior, under-23 and elite men's titles at the 2025 championships in Kwale County. Merhawi Kudus won the elite men's road race, 163.8km from Diani Beach to Kwale Town, in 3:53:06, the Daily Nation reported on 24 November 2025. His compatriot Awet Aman, who took the under-23 title, finished just behind him, and Algeria's Oussama Abdellah Mimouni took bronze in 3:53:11.

No Kenyan finished in the top 10 of the 2025 elite women's road race, where Kendra Tabu was the best-placed Kenyan, in 19th. In the elite men's race, John Muchiri finished 47th of 51 in 4:03:35.

The Kenya Cycling Federation (KCF) was to choose its team from an open selection race in Murang'a. "We will be selecting the top 10 from each category, from the elite to the junior races," said Jackline Wairimu, who organised the trials, as quoted by Citizen Digital.

Kenyan rider Dinah Safari is entered in three events: the time trial on 21 October, the mixed relay on 22 October and the 122.2km elite women's road race on 24 October, the Kenyan sports site Dailysport reported on 20 October. "I didn't perform well in my last two appearances at the African Championships," she said, as quoted by the site.

She said she had been racing in Mombasa, "the hottest place I have raced". "Kisumu is very hot, so mostly I used to train in the afternoon and evening," she said.