Black women are pushing boundaries in every sphere and taking their rightful place as game changers and we can’t help but root for the long awaited change.
From finding her passion at age 14, Eritrean professional cyclist, Mosana Debesay, born into a family cyclists had earlier delved into running races and soccer but it never worked out so, influenced by her three older brothers who used to come home with medals, she decided to take a chance at cycling and now the determined Mosana is rewriting the history books.
Twenty seven year old Mosana Debesay launched her racing career in 2010 after training with a grassroots sports organization in Berik sub-zone. She officially rode the bicycle at a race organized by the cycling federation of the Central region in 2010 and finished second in the Eritrea Cycling Championship in 2011. After completing a two-year course in accounting at a commercial school, she went back to cycling in 2013. There were almost no teams recruiting female cyclists. However, in 2014, a team called Arag was formed and recruited female cyclists, and she became a member. The cyclist rode in the women’s road race at the 2016 UCI Road World Championships, but she did not finish the race. In 2019 she won the African Road Championships road race and in 2018 and the African Road Championships individual time trial. In 2021, she signed with a Bike Aid professional cycling team. Now she’s officially going to compete at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics road race as the first female black African in the event.
Mosana Debesay is the younger sister of Mekseb Debesay who currently rides for UCI Continental team Bike Aid.
Well done!
