Gladiator Cycling Club rolled out its annual Osagyefu Criterium on Monday at the Borteyman Sports Complex, an event the club says has become one of the fixed points on Ghana’s cycling calendar and a personal tribute to the memory of the country’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah.
Speaking to the media after the race, Gladiator Cycling Club’s media representative, Nathaniel Hammond, said expectations going into the day had been high, and the club came away proud of every cyclist who took part.
Expectations were high, and at the end of the day, we are very proud of all the cyclists that did,” Hammond said. He used the moment to send a message to the wider public about the club’s standing in Ghanaian cycling. “I want every Ghanaian out there to know that there is a cycling club in town, and that is Gladiator Cycling Club. That is the best cycling club so far in Ghana. We have Gladiators and the others. Join us for cycling.”
For Gladiator Cycling Club, the Osagyefu Criterium is not simply a competitive outing, it is an act of remembrance. Hammond explained that the club stages the event almost every year specifically to honour Dr. Kwame Nkrumah, affectionately known as Osagyefu, describing him as a great leader whom people across Africa looked up to during his lifetime.
For us, cycling is like life. It keeps us healthy, and it reminds us of Dr. Osagyefu Kwame Nkrumah.” Nathaniel Hammond, Media Representative, Gladiator Cycling Club
He said the club approaches the race with total commitment each year. “We don’t relent at all when it comes to organising this cycling race every year.
It’s something that motivates us a lot, especially those of us in the cycling fraternity,” Hammond said, extending an open invitation to the public to join the club for future editions. “You will not regret it when it comes back.”
A Heritage Ride, and Bigger Plans for 2027
This year’s edition arrived with a twist: a heritage ride component woven into the race-day programme, a first for the event according to organisers. Hammond said the club is already looking ahead to an even bigger 2027 edition, with early plans pointing toward a departure from the heritage-ride format used this year in favour of something more ambitious.
Among the ideas under consideration is a ride tracing a route toward Nkroful, Dr. Nkrumah’s hometown in Ghana’s Western Region, potentially spread across two or three days and starting from Accra.
Hammond stressed that the plans remain in the imagination stage for now, but said the club’s expectations for the anniversary edition are already high. “That one is going to be big, and it’s going to be well attended,” he said.
The Case for Safer Roads
Asked about the broader state of cycling in Ghana, Hammond pointed to a recurring challenge facing the sport nationwide: the absence of dedicated cycling infrastructure. He said cyclists are routinely forced to share the road with motorists, a situation that does not always end well.
There’s no marked place for cyclists, and that becomes a challenge. We end up competing with the drivers on the road, and sometimes the outcomes are not good,” Hammond said.
He appealed directly to government and road authorities to provide lanes that would allow cyclists to train and compete safely. In the meantime, he said, the club relies on enclosed spaces, such as the University of Ghana campus, as safe havens for training.
Praise for the Cyclists
Hammond reserved special praise for the riders who braved difficult conditions on race day. He thanked every cyclist who took part, noting that without them, the event simply would not have happened.
He urged the riders to keep training and preparing, hinting that a side event held on the day may be followed by further competitions in the near future, and encouraged cyclists to stay ready to take part whenever the next opportunity comes.
Gladiator Cycling Club has framed the Osagyefu Criterium as both a sporting fixture and a standing tribute, one it intends to keep building on in scale and ambition as it looks toward an expanded 2027 edition.