Image 1 of 8
The “long, complicated story” for Team AMANI continued with a new chapter at Unbound Gravel this week. The African squad made its way back to the US this spring with four riders experiencing the fabled lore of the Flint HIlls of Kansas, including 33-year-old Kenyan Geoffrey Langat who finished the XL 350 route in fourth place overall.
Last year Team AMANI, a non-profit organisation that promotes inclusivity in cycling and creates racing opportunities for riders based in Africa, competed in a trio of US gravel events – SBT GRVL, Gravel Worlds and Vermont Overland. It was at the third event where tragedy struck when Kenyan team leader Sule Kangangi crashed during the Vermont race and died. Cyclingnews asked about the healing process for the team on their return trip for US racing.
“I think this will be in process for a while yet, because in many ways, the trajectory AMANI was taking was driven primarily in the African context by Sule. The vision is still there, and everybody has stepped up to play a role,” Paul Martens, US logistic manager for Team AMANI, told Cyclingnews in Emporia.
“But everybody’s also uncomfortable imagining they’re taking [his] place. So as a team, they’re moving forward, and they’re learning new roles and tackling new challenges. But healing is going to continue for years.”
Going into a first appearance at Unbound this year, Martens said that John Kariuki was the strongest rider of the trio riding the 200-mile distance, but…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…