At La Tropicale, the continent’s best cycling talent compete against some of Europe’s top teams in the 600 mile race across Gabon in 40C heat

The sun beats down on the town of Ndondjé while La Tropicale’s official Afrobeat song blasts on a loop from the PA. Dancers move in unison to the groove as cyclist Yauheni Hutarovich applauds their efforts from the podium.

On a road nearby, there’s chaos. The fourth stage of Africa’s largest international bike race – named after former president Omar Bongo’s late daughter, Amissa Bongo – is running late. The 500-person transfer across Gabon in planes, trains and automobiles the previous day was delayed, and the South Africa team manager is screaming at his Cameroonian peer: “Turn around, you’re holding everyone up!”

The race starts an hour late but nobody bats an eyelid. It’s just another day at La Tropicale, the 600 mile (970km) stage race through the small west African country of Gabon.

The presence of Hutarovich, a full-time professional cyclist and past stage winner at the Tour of Spain, demonstrates how La Tropicale is pitting Tour de France-level professional squads such as Europcar against the best African national team riders.

They range from the great talents of Rwanda and Eritrea, to unpaid, amateur riders from countries such as Burkina Faso, Gabon and the Ivory Coast.

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is at the vanguard of the cycling revolution

Ivorian Bolodigui Ouattara competes on a battered, seven-year-old bicycle, formerly used by the now-defunct professional team, Vacansoleil, and works as a car salesman. “It’s not easy. After training, you’ve got to go to work. There’s no rest,” he says.

Ouattara hangs on through the race, staying strong, but at a distinct disadvantage. “The biggest barrier until now was the equipment and the coaches, finding ones to help them improve,” says Bernard Hinault, a five-time Tour de France winner and race patron. “Now there’s the infrastructure, the kit and the technique will come. It’s going to change.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The third stage, an attack on the first climb from a rider fighting for the King of the Mountains jersey. Photograph: Gautier Demouveaux/Rouleur

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is at the vanguard of the revolution. Started in 2006, it is now rated as a third tier race by the sport’s governing body, the UCI, and has been Africa’s highest-ranked cycling event since its inception.

Putting on the race is no small logistical feat. Having a stage begin an hour late is the tip of the iceberg. “The big problem, especially in Gabon, is finding the best possible roads for the participants,” says race director general Jean-Claude Hérault. “After that, it’s finding satisfactory accommodation for La Tropicale’s 500 people.”

This year’s race, which took place on 16-22 February, saw eight planes transferring the race’s 220 cyclists, management and media from eastern outpost Koulamoutou to Lambaréné.

The biggest challenge for riders flying in from a European winter is the tropical humidity

The Gabonese government provides over 60% of the race’s £1.7m budget. “They came to us in 2004, wanting to create something new and completely different to other African races, putting African riders in the best national selections against professionals, some of whom had ridden the Tour de France,” says Hérault. “The race doesn’t make money: it acts as tourism development, showing Gabon’s image to other countries.”

Given that the race’s 90 competitors spend the first five days surrounded by miles and miles of sprawling greenery, Gabon – often dubbed “Africa’s Eden” – is an easy sell. “It’s like riding through the jungle,” says rider Maarten de Jonge. Occasionally, they bump into its locals too. “One year, I had to stop my car because a huge gorilla was calmly crossing the road in front of us,” says Hérault.



The biggest challenge for riders flying in from a European winter is the tropical humidity. On the race’s first day between Bongoville and Moanda, temperatures touching 40C and the nagging hills of the Haute-Ogouée around Franceville wreaked havoc in the peloton. “I was suffering big time up those repetitive climbs,” says British rider Dan McLay. “You don’t lose your body heat. You pour a bottle of water over your head and in two minutes, you’re hot again.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The breakaway. Photograph: Gautier Demouveaux/Rouleur

McLay, a first-year professional with the French Bretagne Séché-Environnement team, has acclimatised well, sprinting to his maiden victory at Koulamoutou on stage three. “I’ve never done anything like La Tropicale before. It’s a good experience,” he says.

French professional teams have dominated La Tropicale since its inception. Past champions include Anthony Charteau, a winner of the King of the Mountains prize at the Tour de France, and Frédéric Guesdon, a former champion of Paris-Roubaix, one of cycling’s most prestigious one-day races.

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is fast becoming an Eden for the continent’s cyclists

However, as race organisers try to keep the balance between inviting top professional teams and emerging African talent, the lines between the two are blurring. Rwanda and Eritrea, in particular, have talented young riders who are beating the established professionals.

Rwandan youngster Bonaventure Uwizeyimana won a stage here in 2014 and is well-placed overall this year. He only started racing in 2012, but his strength was built up by his job as a taxi bicycle rider, ferrying loads of up to 150kg. “Cycling changed my life in a big way,” he says. He dreams of turning professional and riding the Tour de France, as many do.

Indeed, La Tropicale can act as a shop window for talent; the Eritrean Natnael Berhane was the race’s first African winner in 2014 while riding for the French Europcar team, who noticed his stage win three years earlier and snapped him up.

“Berhane’s victory is my most powerful memory from the last 10 years,” says Hérault. “That day, the Gabonnais carried him aloft on their shoulders – sure, he wasn’t from Gabon, but he was an African.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The third stage, the pack race through Nzela Town. Photograph: Gautier Demouveaux/Rouleur

The continent’s rise continues in this year’s 10th edition, where Tunisian rider Rafaâ Chtioui is the star. On the first stage he dropped his two breakaway companions and rode alone into Moanda. “I’m very happy, I had a lot of bad luck before and this is some vindication in my career,” Chtioui says.

With his Skydive Dubai team in control and the tougher terrain behind him, the 29-year-old looks set to keep his lead till the race’s final stage in Libreville on Sunday.

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is fast becoming an Eden for the continent’s cyclists. The path to success is still long and tortuous, but with an African team competing in the Tour de France for the first time in 2015 cycling on the continent has never been in better health.

Gabon's La Tropicale cycle race – in pictures Read more

“There’s already an African team, MTN-Qhubeka, going [to the Tour] this year, with riders who have practically all participated in La Tropicale,” Hérault says. “Our race is the logical stepping stone for the development of African cycling. Maybe one day, there will be an African cycling champion.”

This article was originally published by Rouleur, a magazine bringing together leading cycling writers and photographers.

Gautier Demouveaux is a freelance photographer, based in Paris.

