A cyclist from Blackheath made the cycling world take notice of him after his performance at the 2025 Road Cycling Africa Championships held in Kenya over this past weekend.
Faraz Khatieb finished 11th out of 51 starters from all over the continent of Africa. Eleventh might sound bad for the uninformed, but Faraz is just 17-years-old and this was his first year as a junior rider.
Observers at the event praised his endurance over the 107,6km race.
Proud mother
Faraz’ mother, Reygana, says they are very proud of him. “The mere fact that he achieved an 11th place and it is his very first international race is phenomenal. The race was hard and the fact that South Africa took so many time trial titles the day before, they were marked as a team to watch. Every attack they made was immediately countered. I think al the junior riders did well,” says Reygana.
Faraz says he enjoyed the experience and it will benefit him in the future. “The race was hard, but I enjoyed the experience and will definitely go back to the drawing board to see where I can improve,” he says.
Lives for his craft
In an earlier interview with TygerBurger Reygana said her son, who arrives home tomorrow, lives for cycling. “If you’ve seen Faraz cycling around the area, you probably think he’s just another kid on a bike, but let me tell you what you are actually seeing. You are seeing a 17-year-old who rushes home from school every day to train many kilometres four days a week, and races over weekends in the u-19 category but competes against elite riders aged 23 and older — and consistently finishes in the top 10.
“Both his father, Ahmed Khatieb, and his brother, Mihran Khatieb, are cyclists. Faraz grew up watching them and was naturally drawn to the sport. After just two years of cycling, he outrode his dad on Polkadraai. That’s when we knew this wasn’t just a hobby — he had real talent,” she says.
Faraz is currently a Grade 11 learner at Sarepta High School.
