Dual Eritrean National Champion Monaliza Araya Chneslasie is on an accelerated path to becoming a beacon of female cycling in her home nation – if she isn’t one already.

Hailing from Adi Akelo at over 2000 metres above sea level, 25 kilometres from the Ethiopian border, Monaliza is the first Eritrean to ride for either team of CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto. In fact, she’s the first Eritrean female to ride for a professional team at all.

Despite sharing a name with one of history’s most famous masterpieces, Monaliza had not yet raced on the continent of her namesake prior to joining CANYON//SRAM zondacrypto – her impressive results have come from within Eritrea and across Africa.

In 2025, she claimed both the Eritrean national time trial and road race titles, sealing the latter with a devastating long-range sprint against two rivals. These added to a 2022 elite road race crown and her junior double from 2021. On the continental stage, Monaliza and her Eritrean teammates have captured both the African Games and African Championship TTT titles. At the most recent African Championships in November 2025, she secured bronze in the U23 Time Trial, highlighting her potential against the clock and showing that she’s firmly on track towards one of her long-term ambitions – becoming Africa’s best time trialist.

Cycling is deeply embedded in Eritrea’s culture, making bike-riding instincts and knowledge feel like second nature to Monaliza. The extraordinary support that Eritrean superstar Biniam Girmay receives in Europe offers just a small glimpse into the cycling-mad community at home, and Monaliza’s own introduction to the sport reflects that heritage.

“When I was a child, I used a bike to go to school, and that’s when I started to love cycling. I also enjoyed watching races in our village.”

Monaliza says that she draws inspiration from Daniel Teklehaimanot, the first Eritrean to compete in the Tour de France and the first Black African rider to wear a special classification jersey at the event. In her spare time, she enjoys watching movies and listening to music.

It’s an honour to introduce Monaliza to European racing as the team’s first Eritrean rider, and a pleasure to have Eritrean fans rallying behind Monaliza and the team for every race!