Xaverine Ninere has been part of Team Amani since 2022. Over the past few years, the Rwandan cyclist has earned the opportunity to race gravel in Europe, with participations in some of the most relevant one-day and stage races of the continent.

Despite Team Amani’s efforts to provide East African riders with a life path, choosing cycling over raising a family, even more as a woman, is not common. “I still have big goals in this sport before I start thinking in everything else,” mentioned Xaverine. She needed to prove why she is not doing the same as most Rwandan women.

Her 2025 results, together with other milestones like being the first rider on the ramp of the UCI Road World Championships ITT in her own country, indicate her potential and the need for additional resources to support her goals.

That is one of the reasons why Team Amani has decided to establish a Continental team for the women in their roster, becoming the first-ever women’s UCI registered team based in Africa. They will start racing on the road in Europe next spring, with the ambitious goal of taking part in the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift by 2028.

Ashleigh Moolman Pasio will be involved as a mentor and advisor, and will guide the team with her experience as a pioneer for African women’s cycling, playing a “hands-on role in helping them unlock that potential and to see African women line up at the world’s biggest races in the years to come.”

Xaverine Ninere will be the central figure of the team, with a full roster yet to be announced. The short documentary No Permission Needed, directed by Finley Newmark, shows what got her into cycling, her struggles in a community that does not always understand the demands of cycling, and what keeps her pushing forward.