Team Africa Rising (TAR) and the Benin Cycling Federation (FEBECY) united in 2019 during the African Continental Championships in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Team Africa Rising, the founding entity of Rwanda’s National Cycling Team, had recently transferred its successful operations in Rwanda to the Rwandan government and was aiming to expand into West Africa. TAR Founder Jock Boyer discussed with FEBECY President Romuald Hazoumè, and the spark was ignited.
Since late 2019, TAR and FEBECY have worked together to develop the country’s cycling program, with TAR providing expertise through professional coaches and mechanics, and training local Beninese in all aspects of professional cycling. What impressed TAR from the start was the Benin President’s progressive support for women in the sport. Culturally, this was uncommon in places where TAR operated, including Rwanda. The women of Benin received the same quality of equipment as the men, the same opportunities for international races, and equal pay. In May 2025, Benin hosted the GP Cotonou Femmes alongside the men’s GP Cotonou, one of the few major races for African women on the continent.
Benin has a rich history of celebrating strong women. The ancient Kingdom of Dahomey (present-day Benin, West Africa) boasted an all-female military regiment from the 17th to the late 19th century. These women were known as the Amazons due to their resemblance to the warrior women of Greek mythology. Even today, women are afforded the opportunity to attend school, participate in sports, and are generally free from the cultural expectations of early marriage and large families.
Hermionne Ahouissou, team captain and 2025 women’s elite national road champion, was recently asked about feeling pressure to marry or consider marriage at 27.
“I don’t feel pressured to get married. My family encourages me to excel in any sport I choose, including cycling, and they understand that cycling is my current focus. I have the freedom to do what I want, and I love cycling.” Hermionne is also a former Benin National Speed and Endurance Rollerblade Champion from 2016 to 2019.
TAR increased its support in early 2021 after being sidelined from international travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Early on, Benin women showed up at the team house, asking to ride. The women ranged in age from Melvina, 15, riding her first 25km on Zwift in flip flops and barefoot, to Hermionne, the oldest, in her mid-20s. There was Charlotte, built for track riding despite no track nearby, to Benin’s soon-to-be phenom, Georgette.
In 2024, Benin participated in the UCI World Road Championships in Zurich, Switzerland, with a junior boy, Hermionne, in the Women’s Elite category, and Georgette, an 18-year-old junior. In a cruel twist of fate, the women’s junior race, Georgette’s race, was held under intermittent rain showers with temperatures in the 60s. Not ideal weather for African riders on their first trip to Europe and competing at the highest level they had ever faced. In the end, Georgette finished the race and became the first woman from Benin to complete a UCI Junior Worlds race. Benin cycling had found its Amazon!
This summer, Georgette, still a junior, raced with the UCI team in France as she prepared for the World Championships, which will be held for the first time on the African continent in Rwanda. The foundation Team Africa Rising started in 2007 in Rwanda, and the Rwandan team that grew and thrived under TAR’s guidance led to this historic event in Rwanda this September. Georgette and three women from this year’s Maryland Cycling Classic, Hermionne, Charlotte, and Raimatou, will be at that start line, representing strong African women, their country, and the dreams of millions of young girls who love to ride bikes.
(See pages 6 and 7 to read about the Benin women cyclists participating in the Maryland Cycling Classic on September 6, 2025).