Ethiopian Airlines is pleased to announce the continued sponsorship of its flagship cycling team. Following a maiden promotion to the second tier of professional cycling at the conclusion of the team’s sophomore season, the decision to stay on board was an easy one. Due to the increased financial strain of competing at PCT level, further sponsors will bolster the team’s coffers. Thanks to team principal Damian Ippofix’s connections to Irish cycling, which saw him at the helm of the Bank of Ireland team for three years in the 2010s, two new sponsors from the emerald isle were found.

Founded in 1945, Ethiopian quickly grew to one of the biggest and safest airlines in Africa. Today, they serve 155 passenger destinations, 66 of which in Africa – more than any other airline. This pan-African focus allows the team to scout for talent all over the continent. While some Ethiopian representation is sure to be targeted, having a wide range of African nationalities in the team is the goal.

The fastest-growing workwear company in the world, Portwest is a global company hailing from Westport, County Mayo. Renowned for their high-quality and affordable protective clothing and safety wear, they have long been an active supporter of sports in Ireland, most notably Mayo GAA.

The preeminent beer in East Africa, Tusker is going into its third season supporting the team. Kenyan hometown hero Ivan Kipruto has been known to treat himself to an ice-cold Tusker whenever he pilots his sprinter to a win.

The largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland makes a first foray into the production of cycling kits. The company has a long-standing tradition of supplying African national teams with football jerseys. Most recently, the Democratic Republic of the Congo could be seen donning O’Neills jerseys during the 2026 World Cup.

Following a turbulent transfer season, Ethiopian Airlines is proud to present its roster for the team’s inaugural PCT season:

Nat.	Name	FL	MO	MM	HI	TT	ST	RS	RC	CB	SP	AC	FG	DH	PR	OVR	XP	Age	Pot	Wage
	Ewan	75	64	68	71	60	73	71	80	70	83	81	63	71	73	79.18	4.100	32	6	600000
	Formolo	70	77	78	78	67	73	73	69	51	67	68	64	63	67	76.30	4.100	34	6	290000
	Gladysh	72	70	74	77	64	73	72	73	61	71	76	74	69	66	75.70	4.100	31	5	130000
	Gebrezgabihier	68	70	75	79	66	74	74	72	53	67	69	77	66	64	75.44	4.100	32	6	110000
	Battistella	71	75	75	75	66	71	77	72	63	67	71	74	68	72	75.22	4.100	28	6	125000
	Stork	69	75	73	71	75	74	73	76	58	61	70	62	68	76	74.28	4.100	29	5	120000
	Vendrame	72	62	69	76	58	75	73	73	60	71	75	67	67	70	74.26	4.100	32	5	70000
	Schönberger	66	72	74	76	59	73	74	71	57	65	71	75	74	59	74.14	4.100	32	4	65000
	Grosser	70	64	69	74	63	74	72	73	58	75	75	61	67	70	73.97	4.100	30	1	65000
	Sanikwathi	71	57	61	65	64	68	65	73	71	77	76	65	71	67	73.78	4.100	33	5	50000
	Van Heerden	69	72	74	75	66	68	70	70	60	63	74	68	66	63	73.76	4.100	32	4	50000
	De Kleijn	70	61	68	75	60	71	71	76	66	74	75	64	64	67	73.75	4.100	32	3	50000
	Gross	74	61	61	61	62	66	75	76	63	76	76	60	61	64	73.49	4.100	28	5	50000
	Sunderland	65	76	75	73	57	65	68	72	60	67	75	71	70	60	73.32	4.100	30	3	50000
	Herrera	64	75	74	73	63	68	74	74	52	61	67	68	65	61	73.24	4.100	30	1	50000
	Hibatullah	68	77	75	72	63	69	66	71	57	60	70	64	65	57	73.18	4.100	29	5	75000
	Munyaneza	68	64	70	76	61	75	71	67	58	58	76	79	70	60	72.75	4.100	30	6	70000
	El-Doghmy	74	63	65	67	59	70	67	70	68	74	73	65	70	61	72.27	4.90	27	6	50000
	Chavanne	73	56	59	62	63	68	73	69	55	74	73	51	65	80	71.38	4.100	34	6	50000
	Kipruto	73	61	66	70	60	71	71	70	61	70	74	68	64	60	71.37	4.00	24	4	50000
	Del Grosso	69	59	64	68	61	71	72	64	71	69	70	70	65	67	70.83	1.00	23	7	550000
	Rogora	69	68	68	68	72	70	72	68	62	61	64	65	60	71	70.14	3.01	23	4	50000
	Habteab	69	63	64	65	56	67	67	69	66	70	71	65	67	59	68.74	1.00	22	4	50000
	Dike	73	56	59	63	62	68	65	62	60	61	63	66	66	71	66.85	1.00	22	4	50000
	Arefayne	72	62	62	63	62	66	65	67	59	59	67	67	72	69	66.64	1.00	22	4	50000

Spearheaded by Caleb Ewan, one of the best sprinters of his generation and a man who needs no introduction. He will be wearing the red and yellow on 34 occasions this season, and will need a strong performance in each and every one if the team is to stand a chance of survival. To this end, a supporting cast of Gross, El-Doghmy, and Kipruto will try and position him towards the end of races. The other fastmen, Grosser and the last-minute acquisition Sanikwathi, will get their opportunities where Ewan cannot go, primarily in cobbled and hillier races. Chavanne returns to the team in free agency and will act as an experienced road captain while getting the opportunity to go for glory in his favoured prologue discipline.

In the mountains, Davide Formolo will lead the team. A similar profile to Santiago Buitrago, who was sold in the lead up to the Ewan trade, he will be expected to provide the team with depth scoring rather than win races by himself. He will be ably supported by the likes of Battistella, Stork, Sunderland, Herrera, and Hibatullah whenever the road goes up.

Sharing leadership in the hills will be hometown hero Amanuel Gebrezgabihier and Sagan’s superdomestique from last season, Roman Gladysh. They will be complemented by a wealth of capable domestiques on the terrain, such as Schönberger, Munyaneza, van Heerden, de Kleijn, and Vendrame. The latter two will additionally take part in a limited number of C2 races with the dual aim of shepherding the young talents there and taking whatever points they can in the less-demanding hilly races.

The team was particularly focused on rejuvenating the squad, with seven riders yet to reach their full potential. Loanee Tibor del Grosso will already get some opportunities in the cobbled races, which are not a focus area for the team. Sprint talents El-Doghmy and Habteab coupled with roleurs Dike and Arefayne will be a key part of the lead out train for years to come, while Kipruto and Rogora will hope to build on the development they’ve made in the past season. All six talents hailing from Africa underlines the positive impact of not just the team’s success, but also that of Simba Cement - Tanga Fresh and Bralirwa – Cegeka, on African cycling!

That must have been a nervy transfer season, only wrapping up the signing of star rider Caleb Ewan in the last days. Did you ever have any doubt you would be able to pull it off?
To be honest, Ewan was not on our radar when transfers began. We tried to secure leaders for all terrains by means of trade and free agency, but none of our initial plans came to fruition. This was made more difficult as I was on holiday for parts of the transfer season. In the end, we are very happy to have signed a bona fide star in Caleb. He knows himself that any hopes of survival hinge on him, but his mentality is top class, and he wouldn’t have achieved what he was in this sport if he didn’t have the ability to handle this pressure.

You mentioned plans failing – what impact did losing out on Lennard Kämna have?
Look, it was undeniably the turning point of our transfer season. We identified Lennard as a strong leadership option early on and planned our other moves around him. We could never have imagined such a bidding war erupting over him, and I’m not sure anyone came out of it the winner in the end. When we had to pivot to other targets, it certainly weakened our top end strength, although it did allow us to sign depth pieces and talents that we couldn’t have afforded otherwise. Best of luck to Lennard and Roturn for the upcoming season, hopefully this bidding war won’t affect their season too much.

Two new Irish sponsors joined the team ahead of the season, yet the only Irish rider was allowed to leave without a replacement being signed. Was this always the plan?
Of course we always want to represent Ireland well, even more so now that the team is partially registered there. In the end, our Irish targets were snapped up by other teams. Our leading mission remains the development of African cycling, so we can’t compete on every front. The team now boasts nine riders from the continent, including some in leadership roles. Nurturing this talent remains the number one priority.

To sum it up: how do you think you will fare in the year ahead?
We’re under no illusions that it’s going to be a tough season. In an ideal world, we would have signed a climber or puncheur to take the burden off Caleb. As it stands, we are relying on depth scoring and smart racing to complement the points Caleb can get us in his limited number of race days. Davide and Amanuel might not have the legs to regularly compete for race wins at this level, but with the right tactics, they can score enough points to keep us ticking over. We know we’re in for a season of fighting, but we’re confident we can do enough to beat the drop at the end of the season.