Track cycling: the “crazy” rise of Taky Marie-Divine Kouamé

Interview with young French track cyclist

At just 22 years of age, track cyclist Taky Marie-Divine Kouamé has two titles of UCI World Champion to her name, both in the 500 metre time trial: as a Junior in 2019 then in the Elite ranks in 2022. At the beginning of 2025, when the distance for the track time trial for women increased from 500m to 1km (the kilo), she briefly held the world record, establishing a time of 1’08''399 at the French National Championships.

The kilo - along with the keirin and sprint - will be one of her goals at the UCI Track World Championships in Santiago, Chile, in October. The longer distance provides a new challenge: “It’s crazy,” exclaims the French Champion. “It’s really, really, hard. I go fast, like for the first 500 metres, and then it’s really hard. There is a lot of stuff to progress in, even the position. I learned to ride a bike again. It’s new, it’s a big target, and I hope to improve!”

It's the feeling of speed that spurs on the athlete who tried many other sports as a youngster, including football, basketball, track and field, and swimming. She switched from road to track on the advice of a coach, convinced that her power would be suited to the velodrome.

He was right.

She was still only 20 years old when she outrode the world’s Elite to claim the rainbow jersey at the 2022 UCI Track World Championships organised “at home” at the French National Velodrome in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. “It was crazy. It was at home. It was my first Elite World Championships. I was only there to see the level and try something new. And I won! All my family was in the crowd.

“But the next day, it was like it didn’t happen… when I see the video, it’s not me, it’s like another person. It’s like I was never the [UCI] World Champion, and I want to chase another title.”

That opportunity could come at the 2025 Tissot UCI Track World Championships, assuming all goes to plan, and she is selected for the French National Team: “I hope to be at my best level. I think it could be something good in Chile,” says the athlete who represented France in the keirin and the sprint at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Asked who will be her stiffest competition in Chile, she points to herself: “I have trouble accepting my position. Okay, so you are World Champion, you are now an Olympian. It’s hard to believe. When I started track cycling, I didn’t expect to be here. I think my biggest competitor is myself.”

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