Team AMANI Factor Racing

Team AMANI was established in 2020 with a clear purpose: to give East African cyclists the opportunity to compete against the best riders in the world.

Founded by Mikel Delagrange and the late Kenyan cyclist Sule Kangangi, the project was built around a belief that the talent already existed. What was missing was consistent access to equipment, international competition, development opportunities and the infrastructure required to build successful professional racing careers.

From the beginning, AMANI's objective wasn't simply to participate. It was to compete, to demonstrate what East African riders were capable of achieving, and to establish a pathway for future generations.

Over the years, that ambition has developed into something much bigger.

Building from the ground up

Starting with gravel racing, Team AMANI brought together riders from Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and across East Africa to compete in some of the most demanding international events.

The project also helped establish racing opportunities closer to home, including the Migration Gravel Race, while developing longer-term structures such as AMANI House in Iten, Kenya, and the Black Mamba Development Squad.

These initiatives were designed to address a fundamental challenge: talent alone isn't enough to build a career in professional cycling. Riders need opportunities to race, experience competing internationally, access to good equipment and people who believe in their potential.

For Factor, this was what made AMANI compelling from the very beginning.

We first partnered with the team in 2022, providing racing equipment and supporting its development. Our relationship has grown alongside the team, including the creation of special-edition OSTRO Gravel and OSTRO VAM bikes celebrating AMANI's identity and ambitions.

We've watched the organisation grow, the riders develop and the team's competitive objectives become increasingly ambitious.

In 2026, Team AMANI took a significant step with the creation of its women's UCI Continental road team and its first European racing campaign. Competing against established professional teams, the riders began gaining the experience necessary to make the transition towards the highest level of women's road racing.

It is that progress, and our belief in the people behind it, that has brought us to this moment.

Introducing Team AMANI Factor Racing

From 2027, Factor will become Team AMANI's title sponsor under a new three-year agreement, and the team will race as Team AMANI Factor Racing.

The expanded partnership will encompass the women's Continental road programme, international off-road racing and the Black Mamba Development Squad.

But the significance of this relationship goes beyond a new name or increased financial investment.

We want to give the organisation access to the same experience, technical knowledge and commitment to performance that informs all of our racing programmes.

Our engineers work directly with professional athletes to develop and refine the equipment they race. It is a relationship built on dialogue, honest feedback and the understanding that racing is fundamental to how we develop our products.

That approach, together with Factor frames and Black Inc wheels, will be part of our expanded commitment to Team AMANI.

Factor founder Rob Gitelis will also become personally involved in advising and supporting the organisation through its next stage of development.

For Rob, AMANI represents something particularly important: a talented group of athletes with the potential to compete at the highest level, and an organisation capable of creating opportunities that extend far beyond the results of any individual race.

He believes in the project, the people behind it and what can be achieved with the right resources, experience and time.

Part of Factor Racing

For 2027, Factor is expanding its involvement across professional cycling.

From Team Bahrain Victorious in the men's WorldTour and Human Powered Health in the women's WorldTour, to Modern Adventure Factor Racing, our Continental development team and Factor Racing Gravel, our commitment to racing now extends across multiple disciplines and levels of the sport.

Team AMANI Factor Racing becomes an important part of that wider programme.

Each team has its own identity, its own objectives and its own place within professional cycling. What brings them together is a shared commitment to performance and the belief that racing is where we challenge ourselves, learn and improve.

We want the women of Team AMANI to feel that they belong within this wider racing family, with the same seriousness of purpose and access to our experience as every other athlete representing Factor.

Their identity remains their own. Our responsibility is to help them achieve what they have set out to do.

The road to 2028

The objective is ambitious, and it is very specific.

Team AMANI Factor Racing intends to line up at the 2028 Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift.

Reaching that start line will require more than ambition. It will take continued development, international racing experience, results, resources and the right people working towards the same goal.

We know there are no shortcuts. But we also know what can happen when talented athletes are given the opportunity to prepare and compete on equal terms.

This is why we're making a longer-term commitment, and why we're confident in the direction the team is taking.

A new chapter begins

In 2027, Team AMANI Factor Racing will reveal a new visual identity, developed with Factor Racing's creative direction, alongside the next stage of its plans.

The new look will reflect the evolution of the team, while retaining the individuality and character that have always made AMANI stand apart.

There will be more to share as the new season approaches.

For now, this announcement is about recognising how far Team AMANI has come, the potential we believe it has, and the responsibility we're taking on together to help turn that potential into results.

We're not simply supporting Team AMANI's ambition. We're sharing it.

And we'll be with them every step of the way.

Follow us for the latest updates from all our athletes.