Ali Ssali returns to the road today for the men’s individual time trial after his disappointing outing in the men’s cycling road race at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, hoping to turn the lessons from Sunday’s difficult race into a stronger performance for Team Uganda.
The 16-year-old Ugandan cyclist will be back on the Corniche West course, where he endured a frustrating end to his road race campaign after a promising start against some of the world’s best young cyclists.
Ssali had shown considerable determination in Sunday’s 76.5km men’s road race, navigating nine laps of an 8.5km seafront circuit in temperatures reaching 33 degrees Celsius. He remained competitive through the early stages of the demanding contest, holding his own in an international field that featured some of the world’s most promising junior riders.
However, with five laps remaining, his ambitions suffered a setback when a cramp in his right thigh forced him to stop. He was subsequently classified as Did Not Finish (DNF), bringing an unfortunate end to his road race challenge.
The race eventually produced a thrilling finish, with Belgium’s Daan Wilmsen taking gold in 1:47:04, ahead of Russia’s Stepan Bortnik and Australia’s Caleb McKenzie, who completed the podium in the same recorded time.
For Ssali, the disappointment will be difficult to ignore, but his appearance in Dakar is already an important step in his development as a young cyclist.
Born on November 30, 2009, and a student at Nyendo Mixed Secondary School in Masaka, Ssali is among Uganda’s promising cycling prospects. His selection for the Youth Olympic Games is an opportunity to test himself against international competition and gain experience that could prove valuable in his future cycling career.
He arrived in Senegal with confidence built from his preparations, particularly his participation in the African Championships in Kisumu, Kenya, where he completed a demanding 119km ride.
Although he did not return with a medal, the experience strengthened his belief in his ability to compete over long distances.
“I have prepared well to represent my country. We were in Kisumu at the African Championships. I didn’t get a medal, but I got confidence that I can do it after riding for 119km,” Ssali said ahead of the Games.
That confidence will be important as he approaches today’s individual time trial, a different examination of his endurance, pace management and ability to maintain a consistent effort against the clock.
Unlike Sunday’s road race, where positioning, tactical decisions and the movements of the peloton played significant roles, the individual time trial will demand that Ssali finds his own rhythm and delivers a disciplined performance over the designated course.
His immediate challenge will be to put the physical and mental frustration of the road race behind him, recover adequately and approach the time trial with a clear head.
For Uganda, the focus will not simply be on the final classification but also on seeing its young cyclist complete another demanding international assignment and translate the experience into progress.
At just 16, Ssali is still at the beginning of his cycling journey. Dakar offers him a valuable opportunity to understand the demands of elite youth competition, identify areas for improvement and measure his development against riders from established cycling nations.
The road race may not have delivered the finish he wanted, but today’s time trial offers another opportunity to represent Uganda, rediscover his rhythm and leave the competition with a performance he can build on.