Kisumu is set to benefit from increased tourism and business activity as 32 African countries converge at the Lakeside City for the 2026 Confederation of African Cycling (CAC) African Road Cycling Championships scheduled for October 21 to 25.
The organisers are projecting increased spending on accommodation, transport, food and other service in the lakeside City for the next one week.
The Five-day championships are expected to attract approximately 1,000 people, including cyclists, team officials, supporters and other visitors into the City.
Christophe Impend, the event Director representing Belgian-based organiser, Golazo, said the competition was expected to generate significant economic activity for local businesses, drawing on the experience of last year’s championships in Kwale County.
Golazo is a premier Belgian-based sports marketing and event management agency, that ranks among the largest sports event organizers in Europe. Founded in 1990 by Bob Verbeeck, the Company operates from its headquarters in Paal-Beringen, Belgium, with a primary mission to promote health, wellness, and an active lifestyle. Globally, Golazo oversees over 250 to 1,000.
Total annual events across running, cycling, and other sports, pulling in hundreds of thousands of participants.
Golazo organizes more than 90 premium cycling events each year across Europe and globally.
It`s estimated that more than Sh.80 million in tourism-related earnings from the previous edition, adding that the Kisumu event had attracted more participating countries and riders.
The championships have attracted a record 32 African countries and 354 riders, compared with 30 countries and 320 riders in the previous edition. The 2024 championships in Kwale County attracted 21 countries.
The participating nations include cycling powerhouses such as Eritrea, Morocco, Egypt and South Africa.
Riders will compete for continental titles and Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) points, which contribute to qualification for the Olympic Games.
The Championships will feature individual time trials, mixed team relays and road races across junior, under-23 and elite categories. The competition will conclude on Sunday, October 25, with the elite men’s road race covering 175 kilometres.
The individual time trials will be held,Wednesday, October 21, followed by the mixed team relay and under-17 road races on Thursday. Junior women and men will compete in their respective road races on Friday, while the women’s elite and under-23 road race is scheduled for Saturday.
A community cycling event is also planned for Saturday to encourage public participation and raise awareness of cycling as a sporting discipline.
Impend said the event would receive television coverage, with the final two hours of competition on Saturday and Sunday expected to be broadcast live on SuperSport. Kenyan broadcasters NTV and KBC have also received franchise to air the championships live.
He said the coverage would showcase Kisumu and its surroundings to audiences across Africa and beyond, adding that organisers expected the event to reach viewers in 35 African countries. European broadcasters were also preparing documentaries for later transmission.
Kisumu County Executive Committee Member for Trade, Tourism, Cooperatives, Industry and Marketing Farida Salim said the championships will build on the city’s growing reputation as a destination for international conferences, tourism and investment.
Salim recalled that Kisumu hosted the Ninth Edition of the Africities Summit in 2022, which brought approximately 11,000 delegates to the city and tested its capacity to accommodate large-scale international events and from then, the city has continued to host major events.
She said the county subsequently launched the Kisumu My Pride marketing campaign in 2023 to build on the summit’s gains and position Kisumu as a destination where visitors could conduct business while enjoying leisure and entertainment.
“Since 2023, you have seen international conferences and events being hosted here in Kisumu,” Salim said.
She added that the county was coordinating with the Tourist Traffic Commandant, who is expected to visit Kisumu with her team to work alongside local security agencies to enhance the safety of tourists and other visitors during the championships.
County Executive Committee Member for Gender, Beatrice Odanga, appealed to the media to publicise the event and encourage residents to participate in Saturday’s community cycling activity.
Odanga said the championships had helped raise awareness of cycling as a sporting discipline that residents could appreciate and take part in, urging the media to help make the community event enjoyable and attract more participants.
Organisers said preparations had involved consultations with the county and national governments, police and other relevant agencies to coordinate security, accommodation and transport arrangements.
Because of this vent, there will be temporary road closures that will be implemented along the race routes to protect cyclists and other road users.
Police officers and motorcycle safety marshals will help manage traffic, while official detours would be provided.
The roads would reopen once race officials confirmed that the convoy had passed and it was safe for traffic to resume. However, closures could be reinstated as subsequent groups of riders approached.
The organisers said the event venue had been arranged to make key facilities easily accessible, with the start and finish lines, accreditation centre, media room, warm-up tents and ceremony areas located within approximately 500 metres of one another near the host hotel.
Jimmy Geraerts, an event representative, said the media team will share daily five-minute highlight videos and photographs to support coverage of the championships.
He added that journalists would be allowed to film the event but will require accreditation to access the finish area and other controlled zones for safety reasons. An electronic technical guide containing race information and routes would also be shared with the media.
The Championships are being held in Kenya following previous editions in Eldoret and Iten in 2024 and Kwale County in 2025. Organisers said efforts to secure alternative host arrangements for the 2025 and 2026 editions had not materialised, leading to Kenya hosting the event in different regions with support from the Ministry of Sports.
The defending elite men’s champion from Eritrea; Merhawi Kudus and women’s champion Hailey Preen of South Africa were expected to return to defend their titles, alongside the reigning time-trial champions.
Medal ceremonies will be held daily from Wednesday to Sunday, with winners receiving gold, silver and bronze medals. The elite champions will also receive distinctive jerseys to wear until the next championships.
by Mabel Keya- Shikuku /Dorothy Pamella / Chrispine Oduor Onyango
