Thirty-three year old Willie Smit is one of Africa's most ever-present professional cyclists over the last 15 years. He has raced at UCI World Tour, Pro Continental and Continental level across Europe, Africa and Asia.

Willie shares his entry into the sport, his heroes and motivation, his highlights and recent DQ story, and his hints and tips for younger riders in a highly entertaining chat, all in his usual candidate and honest style!

Check out his full palmares on ProCyclingStats here...

Anyone who knows a little about African cycling knows the name Adrien Niyonshuti. The inspirational Rwandan who survived a genocide, found a purpose riding and racing bicycles, made history by qualifying for the London 2012 Olympics, had a brilliant career in the World Tour, and is now a highly successful coach to young African and international riders.

Fourteen years after the London 2012 Olympics, we sat down with Adrien and the race commentator Dan Jarvis to reminisce about that seminal moment in African cycling; the release of the Rising From Ashes movie about Adrien's life (now available for free HERE on YouTube) that year which features Dan calling Adrien across the finish line to hundreds of cheering fans; and his work now with the UCI's World Cycling Centre to coach and develop young African - and other - riders.

Adrien is truly one of the most inspirational African cyclists of all time. We hope you join us in celebrating this moment, enjoy a stroll down memory lane, and maybe have time to watch the Rising From Ashes movie as well!

The Tshenolo Women's Pro Cycling Team is a new African women's team, African-owned, and based in South Africa.

The team is considering moving to the UCI Continental level for 2027, however for now is racing across South Africa and all relevant African races.

We caught up with the team's Sport Director, Durwan Benjamin, and Lucy Young, one of their top riders, to talk about the team, the Tour du Burundi Feminin, which started on Sunday, and the riders she feels will be in contention.

This race is the only UCI women's stage race on the African continent in 2026. At the time of this podcast going live, the 20yo Kazakhstan national champion Yelizaveta Sklyarova has won the first two stages, with riders from Team Amani and Tshenolo filling the rest of the top nine GC spots. Burkina Faso's strong rider Lamoussa Zoungrana has fought her way into tenth spot as well.

Give the Tshenolo Women's Pro Cycling Team a follow on Instagram and we wish them well for the rest of 2026 and into 2027! #WatchTheFemmes #AfricaRising