The Ethiopian national team at the Tour du Rwanda has a selector of just 22 years old, who in 2025 was in Kigali as a rider. His name is Kiya Rogora, he also raced in Tuscany, at Maltinti Lampadari, and since last autumn he has set up his own team, in whose name there is much heredity combined with youthful enterprise and clear ideas about the future. JR Pro Cycling Team is a name inspired by the initials of Jemal Rogora, born in 1959 and a convinced supporter of the project driven by his son with an ambitious mission: "to develop a new generation of cyclists by giving them the best conditions, to develop young passion for two wheels and to showcase Ethiopian and African talent on an international scale".

Jemal is a sort of noble father figure for all the cyclists of his nation and in particular for the city he comes from, Dire Dawa. With the birth of an association aiming for Continental status recognition, a generational handover is taking place that leverages the great cycling tradition of a country capable of bringing marathon runners to the forefront in the first place.

But the bike holds a favored place in the preferences of Ethiopian athletes, ever since 1968 when Jemal Rogora began his career as a rider, marked by three national championships won and participation in the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

"There are all the conditions to grow as a movement. To the boys we have with us, I immediately proposed a structured program covering various aspects, from training techniques to nutrition, to racing strategies. With dad we said that the potential expressed by Ethiopian cyclists and in particular those from Dire Dawa must be put to good use, by adopting measures that may seem obvious in Europe but not in a nation that was nonetheless able to launch in the past an athlete of the caliber of Tgsabu Grmay, who spent many years in the World Tour," explains Kiya Rogora.

A side note: at the start in Rukomo, while being mentioned by Kiya, the former standard-bearer of Lampre and Jayco Alula passes in front of the Ethiopia bus, now in the support vehicle with Team Amani and another convinced promoter of Ethiopian cycling. With gradual progress, but also with a considerable degree of untapped potential, JR Pro Cycling has begun its journey based on the enthusiasm of the Rogoras but also on the recent proven evidence of how the roads of the highlands can serve as a launching pad toward world cycling: "this is the case, on the women's side, of Tsige Kiros, an 18-year-old African champion already seventh at the junior world championships in Kigali. Today she is at Canyon/Sram, but a year ago she was still gaining her first experiences with the UCI team of the WCC".

Rogora, who (temporarily?) closed his cycling career at the intense XSpeed United, supports the importance of performance monitoring and tells of a national racing scene with competitive races from which important indications can come, without too many hierarchies between under and junior riders, who are after all used to racing the same race.

"The Tour du Rwanda represents a great showcase for those who during the season have few opportunities to race outside of Ethiopia. The other main target was and remains the African championship. With JR Pro Cycling we want to multiply the chances of gaining international racing experience, without losing sight of and indeed fully valuing the wealth of interest that exists among youth categories. From this point of view, it should be noted that even at 12 years and older, competitions are held on often heavy mountain bikes: yet talent takes its course and we want to help it blossom. I bring with me what I learned in Italy as well, and my father's eyes light up when he talks about the new team. For me his enthusiasm is contagious".

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