It is a small team for a big race. Over ten days the riders will cross eight provinces, climb into the Huíla highlands and finish in Luanda, and they will do it alongside bigger squads from Angola, Cape Verde, Namibia and beyond.
The race
The Volta a Angola em Bicicleta, named after Angolan cycling figure Alberto Silva "Pepino", was first held in 2015. The 2026 edition opens with a time trial in Cuito, in Bié province, before moving through Huambo, Huíla, Namibe, Benguela, Cuanza Sul and Icolo e Bengo and ending in Luanda on 18 October. Counting riders, team staff and organisers, the travelling caravan is about 600 people.[1]
Osvaldo Manuel, vice-president of the Angolan Cycling Federation, says about 180 riders have entered, and that the Huíla stage is likely to decide the race. Its climbs up to Humpata and over the Serra da Leba, the famous switchback pass near Lubango, are where he expects the favourites to pull away from the rest of the field. Manuel also says the sport has grown fast in Angola, from about ten races a year a few years ago to 143 in 2025.[2]
Foreign teams have come from Ethiopia, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Cape Verde, Namibia, the Democratic Republic of Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe and Zimbabwe.[1] Cape Verde alone has sent eight riders. The islands' federation, on its third visit to the race, is hoping for a top ten finish or a stage win.[3]
The home riders will be hard to beat. Dário António of Interclube has won the last three editions, including the 2025 title, with Namibia's Barloworld/Cymot team the best of the international squads in the overall standings.[4]
Who is riding for Zimbabwe
Andrew Chikwaka is the obvious leader. The 30-year-old won both the national road race and the national time trial in February 2026, the same double he managed in 2024. He finished ninth in the time trial at the 2023 African Continental Championships, so the opening race against the clock in Cuito should suit him.[5]
Amos Chakaza is the most experienced of the three. He was born in 1988, and he finished fourth in the national road race in both 2024 and 2025.[5]
Tendayi Manyawu completes the team. He is the least known of the three, and there is little about him in international results databases.
Nkulumo Dube, the team manager and coach, has raced with these riders before. In 2021, when he and Chikwaka both rode for the Unimills-Hokoyo club, Dube finished second to Chikwaka in the national time trial, with Chakaza further down the same result sheet.[6]
Why three riders matters
Most of the bigger teams in Angola can afford to lose a rider and still race properly. Zimbabwe cannot. Stage races are long and unpredictable, and one crash, one stomach bug or one bad day in the heat can leave a three-man team down to two riders with a week still to go. Barloworld/Cymot's 2025 race shows how quickly that happens: the Namibian team's best overall rider fell ill on stage five and lost time in strong winds. The same team also rode the time trial on ordinary road bikes, not specialist time trial machines, against better equipped rivals.[4]
Money is a familiar part of the story. When Zimbabwe named its team for the 2024 African Road Championships in Kenya, Cycling Zimbabwe secretary-general Elsie Mahumbe said the federation could not fully cover travel and race costs and was still raising money so every selected rider could go.[7] A small team in Angola fits that pattern.
The size of the team also changes what success looks like. A Zimbabwean is unlikely to beat Dário António for the overall title. A top ten in the opening time trial, a strong ride on the Huíla stage or all three riders reaching Luanda would all be real achievements, and each one gives sponsors a reason to back a bigger team next time.
What to watch
The time trial in Cuito comes first and is Chikwaka's best early chance to show his form. The Huíla stage, with the Humpata and Serra da Leba climbs, is the one most likely to shake up the overall standings. The race finishes in Luanda on Sunday 18 October.
We'll follow Team Zimbabwe's results as the stages come in.
Sources
Caravana internacional da Volta a Angola começa a chegar a Luanda, A Bola ↩︎ ↩︎
Cabo Verde leva oito ciclistas à Volta a Angola com objetivo de dignificar a bandeira nacional, Expresso das Ilhas ↩︎
Barloworld/Cymot Pro team shines at Volta Angola, New Era ↩︎ ↩︎
Unimills-Hokoyo in time trial podium sweep at Zim National Champions, The Herald ↩︎
Researched and drafted with the help of AI tools, then fact-checked and edited by our team. How we work.
