Kimberley Le Court has been named African Female Rider of the Year. The award was presented Saturday evening in Kigali during the Africa Cycling Excellence Awards. Biniam Girmay won the men's title.
Le Court put her home country Mauritius on the cycling map in 2025 by winning, among others, Liège-Bastogne-Liège and a stage in the Tour de France. During the Tour, she wore the yellow jersey—for the first African female rider ever—and held it for an impressive four days. Additionally, the now 29-year-old AG Insurance-Soudal rider secured top placings in Milan-San Remo (5th), the Tour of Flanders (5th), La Flèche Wallonne (6th), and the World Championships in Rwanda (8th).
In the contest for African Female Rider of the Year, Le Court prevailed over her South African teammate Ashleigh Moolman Pasio and Ethiopian talent Tsige Kiros. The latter competed last autumn for the UCI World Cycling Centre team, but the 18-year-old rider will join the development team of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto starting in 2026. Kiros won the African junior road race and time trial championships last autumn. At the World Championships in Rwanda, she finished seventh in the junior road race.
Biniam Girmay
The title of African Male Rider of the Year went to Girmay. This marks the fifth time in his career he has won this award, having previously claimed it in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2024. In 2023, Henok Mulubrhan was the lucky winner.
Although Girmay didn't secure a win last season, he still achieved several podium finishes in major races. He was second in the opening stage of the Tour de France, fifth in the Bretagne Classic, and seventh in Gent-Wevelgem—the race he won in 2022. Girmay, who will ride for NSN Cycling Team starting next year, edged out two compatriots in the African Male Rider of the Year voting: the aforementioned Mulubrhan (XDS Astana) and Natnael Tesfatsion (Movistar).
