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Zakayo (left) and Mwangi on a climb. Photo: Nicholas Leong
Very few Asian entrepreneurs have the audacity to do crazy things. While more entrepreneurs and do-gooders have arisen in the continent over the past decade — and that is a good sign, don’t get me wrong — many of them are found hopping onto the latest fads, daily deals one moment, SoLoMo the next.
Nicholas Leong, on the other hand, is truly one-of-a-kind.
A Singaporean commercial photographer in his previous life, Nicholas gave it all up to pursue a different path: Training the next Lance Armstrong. In Kenya.
He’s not doing this on the side, he told me while he was in Singapore a few weeks ago. Committing his life savings to this endeavor, he’s on full throttle, charging full speed ahead with his wacky idea. By the time you’re reading this, he’ll be in Africa, preparing his cyclists for their next race.
Everything started with a spinter in his feet.
“I couldn’t walk for weeks, and spent a lot of time at home, just thinking about stuff,” he said.
As an avid fan of the Tour De France, a thought came to him: In an era where athletes of African descent dominate almost every sport, why is the world of pro cycling still a white man’s game?
He also noticed that Africans, and Kenyans in particular, have been dominating the marathon world. Last year, for the first time, Kenyans have swept all six World Marathon Majors — in Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York, and Daegu.
Meshing the two thoughts together, he had an idea: What if they can transplant their natural aptitude for long-distance running to another endurance sport — cycling?
He acted on it. After the Standard Chartered marathon in 2006, in which the men’s race was dominated by Kenyans, Nick packed his bags, and bought a ticket to Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. He approached the Kenyan team and told them he was following them to their hometown.
And that was the start of his African Cyclist project.
Nick is now based in Eldoret, a town 2,100 meters above sea level and the engine room of Kenya’s running prowess. Many of Kenyan’s top marathoners have emerged from there.
“My landlady was a 10,000m world champion. Throw a stone there and you’ll likely hit a champion runner,” he said.
He has set up an academy with 14 cyclists, many recruited from a local cycling club. With him is a team of support staff and coaches.
While his long term goal is to train an African cyclist to win the Tour De France, his immediate priority is to get them to dominate the mass-start amateur races.
Initial signs have been encouraging. Last year, their top cyclist, John Njoroge, came in at 13th position in the L’Étape du Tour, an amateur race that takes the same route as a stage of the Tour De France. They will be participating again this year, and they’re definitely looking to top last year’s results.
Their current achievements are the result of two factors. They’ve managed to secure funding from a private investor. They’ve also decided to adopt African solutions to train African cyclists, instead of relying on old paradigms.
Getting an investment wasn’t easy. But Nicholas had faith it would happen.
“Somewhere out there in the world, someone would identify with what you’re doing and would want to put money into it,” he said.
It turned out that he didn’t have to look too far.
Matthieu, a Singapore-based French hedge fund manager and his wife, Mary-Anne, were flipping through the Straits Times in 2007. Immediately, they were attracted by a story about Nick and his cyclist, who was training in Singapore. Coincidentally, Nicholas had taken some pictures for Matthieu once.
“He found Nick’s phone number and just called. We met the guy, and then we loved the story and the man. We first were fans and followers. Then we became partners after a few months,” said Mary-Anne.
The hedge fund manager is passionate about the Tour de France. For Mary-Anne, she had been looking to invest in Africa for some time. While she wanted to fund a charity initially, she later decided they should invest in an African company.
“Charity is killing Africa. We met a lot of African people, mainly in France actually, and they all seemed so upset to see the way non-African people think about them and react to them. African people can definitely take care of themselves, especially if they use their own thinking and their own resources,” she said.
Nick’s initiative was a perfect fit.
“What we loved about his project was the obviousness of it. Kenyans are great athletes, and cycling is a new challenge for them. And around this project, we can build so many things about ethics, sustainability, education, and entrepreneurship.”
Besides providing money, the couple has also helped with accommodation in France and obtaining visas. They also assisted with research about setting up youth programs, and making the project sustainable in the long-run. Nick had been living on his savings prior to that.
“We are very picky, because we want to find partners in mind, as well as partners in money,” she said.
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Zakayo when he was still living in a slum near Eldoret. He used to train alone before going to his shoeshine stand to put in a full day of work. Photo and caption: Nicholas Leong
The next year, Nick was able to take two promising cyclists, Zakayo Ndbri and Samwel Mwangi, to the Alpe d’Huez, a famed mountain in the French Alps that is part of the Tour De France route. Their goal is to climb the mountain with their bikes, hoping to get as close to Lance Armstrong’s timing (37 minutes 36 seconds) as possible.
They were close. Zakayo achieved 42 minutes, enough to finish in the top 20 at the Tour De France in 2004. Mwangi came in a minute later. Nick had hoped to bring these results to corporate sponsors and professional cycling teams.
Kenyans, by and large, are unfamiliar with professional cycling. The sport is expensive to participate in, putting it out of reach of ordinary Kenyans. To prepare them for the sport, traditional training methods were not the answer.
Nick involved trainers who had a background in marathon running. The idea was to transition these cyclists from the world of running, which is very well-established in the country, and get them used to peddling on the bike.
“We got them to do exercises where they lie down on the floor and moved their legs in a cyclical motion. It gets them accustomized to the sport,” he said.
Right now, Nick is focused on building public support for their social enterprise. They’re also seeking corporate partners to sponsor their team and advertise on their jerseys.
“Cycling is a lucrative sport. Big brands like HTC have sponsored one of the top professional cycling teams in the world,” he said.
More importantly, they are looking to win. Another revenue stream for his project will come from the prize money whenever their cyclists win competitions. He’s aiming first for the Asian, African, and minor European races. Next, the bigger European and American races. And finally, they want to contend for one of the Grand Tours — Giro, Vuelta, and the Tour De France.
Winning, ultimately, is just the means to an end for Nick. He wants to change history.
Cycling is perhaps the only mono-racial sport left on the planet.
“There are many implications for this project — and they’re not just in sports,” he explained. It offers an alternative route out of poverty for black Africans. It promises to breathe new life into a sport plagued by doping scandals. It provides a platform to publicize issues dogging Africa today, helping organizations that are trying to tackle these problems.
To be clear, Nick is a long distance away from the summit of the proverbial mountain. There’s no guarantee that his group of ragtag cyclists can surmount the odds and reach the pinnacle of professional cycling.
But there’s no harm trying. “We only have one life to live,” he said.
I opined that many must have contemplated the same idea, but acting on it is extremely tough.
“Really? You think so?” he said.
For someone that’s trying to attain the impossible, he sure sounds confident.
Then again, miracles happen all the time in the world of sports.
Just ask Jeremy Lin.
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