A letter of invitation and a document designed to help any prospective candidates with their bid has been sent to all 50 National Federations of the African Cycling Confederation (ACC), the UCI said today.

A desire to have Africa host the event was initially announced during the UCI's 2017 Presidential campaign, won by David Lappartient, with the hope it would "consolidate the growth" of cycling on the continent.

The deadline for any bids is September 2019, at which point the UCI will name its chosen city following the approval of its Management Committee.

Various countries in Africa have already hosted major cycling events in recent years.

In 2013 and 2017 South Africa hosted the Mountain Bike and Para Cycling Road World Championships, while several races on the UCI Africa tour, including the Tour du Rwanda and the Tour du Maroc, now attract a number of professional teams from across the globe.

At the same time a number of African riders have broken through on the UCI World Tour, including three Eritreans in Daniel Tekhlehaimanot, Natnael Berhane and Tsgabu Grmay.

Lappartient said staging the UCI's flagship event in Africa would represent "a significant step forward" in the popularity of cycling.

"It is an occasion that will see the world's top riders, hundreds of reporters and hundreds of thousands of spectators come together for the very first time in Africa, over the course of a whole eight days," he said.

"I strongly urge the continent's National Federations, in partnership with the prospective host cities, to present bids to stage this historical event."

The UCI are the latest governing body to express an interest in having more events in Africa.

The 2022 Summer Youth Olympics is guaranteed to be held there as the four cities bidding are all from the continent, following the targeting of Africa from the International Olympic Committee.

The International Association of Athletics Federations have just awarded Kenyan capital Nairobi the 2020 World Athletics Under-20 Championships, which could be a dress rehearsal for the senior event in 2025.