Wango Alfred is a Nairobi-based artist and photographer, covering street style, fashion and music in Kenya, alongside his role as official photographer for Team Amani, developing young riders from across East Africa and competing in gravel and road races around the world. The Ethiopian-registered squad announced the launch of a women’s UCI Continental team – the first from Africa – at Rouleur Live in November.
We love your photos from the World Championships in Rwanda. They really capture that behind the scenes vibe – the crowds, the riders, the pleasure and the pain. Have you been shooting cycling for a while?
It's quite an honour, you know, considering it's been one year now working with the Amani team. Also, not coming from a cycling background and joining Amani this year was quite a steep learning curve, having to understand everything happening around it. By the time of the Tour de France, at least I had a grasp of what's happening around the cycling space. With time, I fell in love with the sport, a sport that I barely understood, and now I'm deep in it. So that's good to hear.
How would you describe your style with the camera?
I love telling stories through photography. And now I think it's even more interesting getting to tell the story of this East African team, and it's also a privilege that it has this platform, and now I'm able to now tell the story of the team, and now that there's an audience that wants to hear more about it, so I love the impact that it's creating. I love the relationships I have with the cyclists within the team and the community around the team as well.
Where have you shot with the team over the past year?
A lot of local races, but the first international race was in Ethiopia for the Tour of Tigray women's race – all these women competing in a region so remote, yet the sport is so robust. And that was really amazing for me. Then there was a spring block of gravel racing happening in Italy and Spain, which was also amazing, getting to spend time in Girona, which I think is like the Mecca of cycling.
We also went to the Tour de Windhoek in Namibia with the women’s team, the African championships in Kenya, and of course the World Championships in Rwanda. All these races have been integral to me understanding the sport, getting to create a deeper relationship with the riders and also the larger community.
Read more: Riding the wave: Rwanda, redemption and riders who believe
Coming from a non-cycling background, did you have a sense of how big the championships in Rwanda was going to be?
As the year progressed and as the championships was approaching, I kind of had an idea of what was happening, but I didn't know to what scale, because I'd say the biggest I had been to was probably a 2.1 UCI road race. So I didn't quite grasp the scale of what to expect at the World Championship. Being there was quite amazing.
Your photos have a documentary style that really captures the feeling of being at a race.
I love the emotion. I love the essence. I love the spirit of the race. For me, I want to get those moments just after the finish line. I'm not a big fan of the photos at the finish line, but after. I want to get the moments where you're done with this 200 kilometre race, and you just need a bottle of water. That's the kind of energy I like. I love the spectators when they can't see the cameras. That's what tells the story. I also think with my background, coming from a lot of documentary work, projects in Nairobi, in Kenya, stuff around culture, I feel like those moments kind of show a sense of vulnerability, where you're not trying to appear strong whenever you see a camera in your face, but where you can just be. It's how you're feeling, and that's what I need to capture. That's what everyone can relate to.
Who is the rider in the cover shot?
That is Xaverine [Nirere], an hour before she went down the ramp for the time-trial as the first rider at the World Championships, which was an honour and a privilege! And I think that also makes that photo quite amazing. She was actually just warming up with two girls from the team, who are from Ethiopia. So the moment I saw them, I got portraits of them, and I love looking at all this small detail – what are they wearing, what are they doing. There is something about average that is quite spiritual. Having that bracelet with the cross and Jesus on it represents a lot of what Xaverine stands for. So yes, I definitely had to get that. That's very cool.
It is indeed. How do you see your work with Amani progressing next season?
My role is mainly to do media for the team and help with communication and what the team is about. But I also feel it's my role to help these riders create a social media presence, because at the end of the day, they're still individual athletes who also need to create a brand around their names and what they do. They might not be in Amani forever, but at some point, they also need to stand as individual athletes. I want to see them on billboards in Nairobi. I want to see them in magazines. I want to see stories being written about them.
What else are you working on outside on Amani?
I also do a lot of street photography in Nairobi, capturing art history and culture. I run a brand called Karibu, which means ‘welcome’ in Swahili, showing what's happening in the city. But all in all, at the centre of all of them is storytelling. And for me, that's what's important.
We are booking flights to Nairobi NOW! Thank you, Wango.
