Long post incoming Did a little scouting tour through some African countries and here's what I came back with. These are my first rider suggestions, so bear with me

First, I wanted to suggest a talent upgrade to Henok Mulubrhan. He's currently listed as potential 5 and I'd like to make the case for 6. He finished 6th at the Giro dell'Appenino last month, ahead of guys like Ulissi and Trentin, and 6th in a baby Giro stage. He also finished 5th at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo and 9th at the Tour du Rwanda last year, including 3 Top 5 stage results respectively at both races. And lastly, he got signed to a two year deal with Qhubeka NextHash starting next year, meaning he'll race at WT level.

He also finished 6th in the baby Giro TT, so I think he could use an upgrade from his currently suggested 59 TT to maybe 64. With an increase in his prologue stat, that could also open up a way for him to become a bit of a prologue specialist, but that's more of a gimmick. With potential 6, this is what he'd look like (with the TT/PRL upgrade):

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Mulubrhan	Henok	65	63	68	64	63	67	67	61	66	71	64	63	68	ERI	AF	1	0	11	11	1999	6
Hill		68	67	77	65	71	71	71	61	69	79	71	66	69	ERI	AF	4	100	11	11	1999	6
Climberv1		66	72	76	65	66	72	74	61	66	78	73	66	69	ERI	AF	4	100	11	11	1999	6
Track-Sprint		72	63	71	65	66	74	72	61	75	79	64	64	76	ERI	AF	4	100	11	11	1999	6

I don't think that's too much, if anything I think a small boost in mountain and sta/res might be justified.

As an additional point, there's currently not a single potential 6 talent below the age of 24 from Africa, the only continent for which this is the case. With that in mind, a similar, if not stronger case could be made for Natnael Tesfatsion. He scored a Top 10 and multiple Top 20 stage results at the Giro as well as two stage Top 10s at the Settimana Coppi e Bartali. With potential 6, he would look like this:

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Tesfatsion	Natnael	65	65	69	58	64	68	68	60	67	71	66	61	59	ERI	AF	1	0	23	5	1999	6
Hills		68	69	78	59	72	72	72	60	70	79	73	64	60	ERI	AF	4	100	23	5	1999	6
Climberv1		66	74	77	60	67	73	75	60	67	78	75	64	60	ERI	AF	4	100	23	5	1999	6

Pretty strong, but still reasonable I think. Maybe it's too much to ask for both to be upgraded, but one of them would be fair in terms of "continental balance", I think, with the outlook of maybe adding another 6er in Biniam Ghirmay next year.


That being said, some new riders that haven't been suggested so far:

Eric Manizabayo https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider...abayo/2021

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Manizabayo	Eric	65	68	70	61	67	69	63	60	60	61	71	64	61	RWA	AF	3	0	28	8	1997	3
Hills		67	70	74	61	70	71	65	60	61	64	74	65	61	RWA	AF	4	100	28	8	1997	3
Climberv1		65	72	73	61	70	71	66	60	60	64	75	65	61	RWA	AF	4	100	28	8	1997	3

Some solid results at the Tour du Rwanda and the Tour du Senegal (Top 10 GC, multiple stage Top 10s and a 3rd). Best results on hilly stages and finishes, always in groups very close to the front but consistently one of the last riders in the respective group. Could develop into a decent CT domestique. If I understand it correctly, since he's '97 and has two CT seasons under his belt (with Benediction Ignite), he starts at 3.00, yes?


Shemu Nsengiyumva https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...amp;y=2021

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Nsengiyumva	Shemu	68	62	63	62	67	68	62	61	61	62	66	62	62	RWA	AF	1	0	3	6	1999	4
	Fighter	76	62	64	62	72	72	65	62	64	67	73	65	62	RWA	AF	1	0	3	6	1999	4

CT rider for Skol Adrien Cycling Academy. Tough to decipher what type of rider he is, since he doesn't have any standout results. I'm scraping the bottom of the barrel a bit with this one, the 1999 year isn't stacked for Rwanda But there aren't many good rouleurs in Africa, maybe he could be one.


Paul Daumont https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...362#search

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Daumont	Paul	66	62	66	64	67	67	62	62	69	70	70	65	65	BUR	AF	1	0	1	9	1999	4
Track-Sprint		73	62	67	65	68	72	66	62	76	77	70	66	72	BUR	AF	1	0	1	9	1999	4
Sprinter		73	62	67	64	72	68	67	67	75	76	70	65	65	BUR	AF	1	0	1	9	1999	4

He has 11 wins in Africa in the past 3 years including the current Burkina Faso NC. The competition is hard to gauge, but among others he beat Issiaka Cisse, who's currently a 77/78 sprinter in our DB. Also seems to get over hills decently well, he was second in the KoM classification of the Tropicale Ammisa Bongo last year. He's close to the max SP among the previous suggestions, but considering his backup stats aren't all that great, I think it fits. Wouldn't be opposed to giving him 5 potential either for all those wins, but maybe that's overdoing it.


Jason Oosthuizen https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...hp?r=62326

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Oosthuizen	Jason	65	63	68	66	65	67	64	60	68	68	67	64	66	RSA	AF	1	0	5	5	1999	3
Hills		66	65	73	66	72	70	67	60	69	73	71	65	65	RSA	AF	4	100	5	5	1999	3
Sprinter		70	63	69	66	70	68	69	64	74	74	67	64	65	RSA	AF	4	100	5	5	1999	3
Sprinter+Hills		68	65	72	66	70	69	68	62	72	74	70	65	65	RSA	AF	4	100	5	5	1999	3
Track-TT		70	63	68	73	70	70	68	60	71	71	67	64	73	RSA	AF	4	100	5	5	1999	3

Spent one year with TEG Procycling in 2019 and had some really solid results. He seems at his best when sprinting from a small group, so I envision him as sort of a punchy sprinter. He also came in 2nd at the South African U23 TT NC, so maybe that's a route for him, too. In general, kind of a gadget guy who might pick up some points in CT when deployed well. Maybe he needs one or two points more in some of the stats to be useable, I'm not sure.


Marc Pritzen https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...amp;y=2021

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Pritzen	Marc	66	66	68	66	66	68	65	62	65	67	66	64	66	RSA	AF	1	0	11	8	1993	4
Hills		69	69	76	67	73	72	68	62	66	72	71	65	67	RSA	AF	4	100	11	8	1993	4
Climberv1		67	73	75	66	67	72	70	62	65	74	73	65	66	RSA	AF	4	100	11	8	1993	4
Stage Racer		67	73	73	73	71	73	72	62	65	68	67	64	73	RSA	AF	4	100	11	8	1993	4

Current South African national champion, which alone probably warrants the inclusion. He's also in his second year with Qhubeka CT and accumulated a couple of good results including several stage wins and the GC at the Tour of Good Hope (2.2) and a number of national races. He also showed he can compete on a higher level with a 47th place at the Giro dell'Appenino. Seems generally most successful on hilly terrain, but also had some strong results in NC ITTs (7th in the Elite, 2nd in the U23 last year). Could be a very versatile rider with different pathways.


Achraf Ed-Doghmy https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...amp;y=2019

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
El-Doghmy	Achraf	67	62	67	60	68	70	64	60	67	66	69	62	60	MOR	AF	1	0	19	11	1999	4
Sprinter		74	62	68	60	73	71	69	65	74	73	69	62	60	MOR	AF	4	100	19	11	1999	4
Fighter		75	62	66	60	73	75	67	61	70	71	76	63	60	MOR	AF	4	100	19	11	1999	4
Hills		70	65	75	61	75	74	67	60	68	71	74	63	61	MOR	AF	4	100	19	11	1999	4

Only rode on national level this and last year (though with very solid results), but had some good performances in .2 races as well in 2019, earning a few UCI points. Seems to have some speed but rarely the most, but often makes it to the final selection. He could work as either a mediocre sprinter with a big motor or a decent rouleur or puncheur.


Aziz Melki https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...amp;y=2019

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Melki	Aziz	69	62	68	62	68	69	65	60	61	63	71	62	62	TUN	AF	1	0	1	12	1999	3
Fighter		76	62	69	62	72	72	66	61	64	68	76	63	62	TUN	AF	4	100	1	12	1999	3

Not gonna lie, there's not too much here, but I wanted to include a Tunisian rider since most of the better guys right now are 31+ years old. At least Aziz rode consistently at .2 level in Africa for two years. Sometimes handles hills okay, sometimes doesn't. Would end up as an okay domestique.


Charles Kagimu https://firstcycling.com/rider.php?r=...amp;y=2021

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Kagimu	Charles	64	68	68	66	66	67	68	60	62	68	66	61	62	UGA	AF	2	100	15	9	1998	4
Climberv1		65	74	74	66	67	70	72	60	62	74	73	62	62	UGA	AF	4	100	15	9	1998	4
Climberv2		65	74	71	66	72	73	71	60	62	71	70	68	62	UGA	AF	4	100	15	9	1998	4
Hills		67	71	75	67	72	70	71	60	63	72	70	62	63	UGA	AF	4	100	15	9	1998	4
Stage Race		65	74	72	72	70	71	74	60	62	69	67	61	68	UGA	AF	4	100	15	9	1998	4

Rides for BikeAid. Has 2 Top 15 finishes in the Tour du Rwanda ahead of some established pros this year, plus some middle-of-the-pack results in the Sibiu Tour, which had decent competition. Seems like a decent climber/puncheur with good acceleration, some okay TT results as well, including 6th at the African continental championships and 25th at the Tour du Rwanda, but doesn't seem great in prologues.


Alan Boileau https://www.procyclingstats.com/rider...ileau/2021

Surname	First name	Fl	Mo	Hl	TT	St	Rs	Rc	Cb	Sp	Ac	Ft	Dh	Pl	Nat.	Cont.	XP Level	XP Points	D	M	Year	Pot
Boileau	Alan	66	64	69	66	67	70	66	63	68	71	70	69	66	FRA	EU	1	0	25	6	1999	5
Hills		69	67	77	67	75	74	70	63	71	78	75	70	67	FRA	EU	4	100	25	6	1999	5
Climberv1		67	73	77	67	70	74	73	63	68	78	78	70	67	FRA	EU	4	100	25	6	1999	5

Last one isn't an African, but jumped out dominating the Tour du Rwanda, winning three stages against guys like Umba, Vuillermoz and Eyob. Rides for B&B Hotels, had a pretty strong Route d'Occitanie as well, at times finishing around guys like Champoussin or Ciccone. Not a great climber, but a really promising puncheur with high speed. Definetely the strongest of the bunch. Not sure if I overdid it, but I think it's at least in the range of reasonable.