Nine months after fracturing several bones, including his ribs and lower back, following a crash at the Grand Prix La Marseillaise, Eritrea's Merhawi Kudus has returned to his absolute peak shape, taking victory in the African Continental Championships road race.
The championships took place in Kwale, Kenya, this past weekend, with titles awarded at the junior, under-23 and elite age categories. Kudus' victory closed out the event, as he and teammate Awet Aman rode away to an Eritrea 1-2 and arrived hand-in-hand at the line.
22-year-old Algerian Oussama Abdellah Mimouni rode to an impressive third place after a hard-fought final climb.
Despite long being one of Eritrea's top riders, this is only Kudus' second podium finish in the African Championships road race, with his first coming 12 years ago as a 19-year-old, when he finished third in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, during his first professional season.
"I can’t express how happy I am," said Kudus after the victory. "I made it to the podium years ago, but this victory makes me incredibly happy and incredibly proud of my team."
His win marks Eritrea's fourth consecutive title in the men's elite event, following on from a hat-trick of Henok Mulubrhan victories. They are two of many Eritreans riding in the professional peloton, with Mulubrhan on XDS Astana and Kudus again heading into 2026 as a Burgos Burpellet BH rider.
Others in the peloton hailing from the East African nation include former Tour de France points jersey winner Biniam Girmay and Lidl-Trek domestique Amanuel Ghebreigzabhier, as they've grown into an impressive cycling nation in their own continent and globally.
"We prepared very well for this goal. We spent the last four weeks in Eritrea working hard to get in top form," said Kudus.
"Defending the title for my country wasn’t easy, but we’ve achieved our fourth consecutive victory. I felt a lot of pressure as one of the professional riders competing, and I wanted to do well for my team and my country.
"It was a tough race, but thanks to my teammates, we were able to do it. Now I’ll have a few days of rest, and we’ll soon start preparing for next season."
After a long build back to form following his significant injuries, this was Kudus' first professional win in more than three years.
It also got the Spanish ProTeam he rides for off to a cracking start for the 2026 season (which officially started on October 20), with victory bringing 250 UCI points. With his trade teammate Alexandre Mayer taking bronze for Mauritius in the elite men's time trial, and tenth in the road race Burgos have already made a solid start even before the new year with more than 300 points gained.
In the women's elite road race, victory was taken by South Africa's Hayley Preen, who is perhaps better known as a gravel racer and is also the South African national champion in the off-road discipline.
She prevented Eritrea from taking another gold medal, with 23-year-old Birikti Fessehaye finishing in second. Rwanda took third in the women's race through Claudette Nyirarukundo, with victory being decided on the final climb to the line in Kenya.
"With the route being very flat in the beginning, I knew it was going to come down to the climb," said Preen on the organiser's website.
"I just tried to stay relaxed, follow moves, and keep it all for the last climb. My teammates were really strong and I really liked the climb at the end, it worked in my favour.”
Preen's victory saw her go one better than her runner-up finish in 2021, and added her name to a list of several South African winners in their continental road championships, alongside five-time champion Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, Carla Oberholzer and Lylanie Lauwrens.
