Cycling enthusiasm is huge in Rwanda. At the start of the second stage of the tour in Huye, several hundred bicycle taxi drivers looked in awe at the fast bikes in the peloton. "We'd love to ride on bikes like that," says Innocent, looking from his heavy entry-level bike, which costs around 100 dollars, to the light and expensive racing bikes of the professionals. The price gap is also extreme in terms of income.
Neo-professionals on the World Tour can use the Minimum salary of 34,020 euros per year. At the standard price of 100 Rwandan francs per kilometre (around seven euro cents), bicycle taxi drivers would have to circle the globe more than ten times at equatorial height. That's what you call a class difference.
Cycling in Africa on the up
If the conditions are comparable, the differences are no longer so obvious. Eric Manizabayo, a bicycle taxi rider himself as a teenager, was in tenth place in the Rwandan national team jersey on the steep ramp of Mont Kigali on the sixth stage. Two other athletes from Africa finished ahead of him on this queen stage of the tour.
"Cycling in Africa is on the rise," sums up Jean-Pierre van Zyl, who has headed the South African branch of the World Cycling Centre of the International Cycling Union (UCI) since 2005. "Our first generation with Daniel Teklehaimanot, Merhawi Kudus and Tsgabu Grmay had a really hard time; at that time there were no black professionals. The current generation, on the other hand, sees African riders taking part in the Tour de France, competing in the Olympics and - like Biniam Girmay - even winning races. That opens up completely new horizons," says van Zyl. He came to the Tour du Rwanda with a very young team with an 18-year-old, three 20-year-olds and mentor Tsgabu Grmay.
The strategy of the Tour du Rwanda
The youth trend fits perfectly into the new strategy of the Tour du Rwanda. Philippe Colliou is the technical director here. In France, he organises the Tour de l'Avenir, the most important international tour for young riders. "Our aim at the Tour du Rwanda is to promote young African riders. That's why we invited as many African nations as possible," he explains. The teams from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Mauritius, Algeria and South Africa will be joined by two Continental racing teams from Rwanda. In order to create attractive competition conditions for the mostly young riders from the African continent, Tour de l'Avenir boss Colliou endeavoured to attract development teams from Europe.
They see the invitation in a thoroughly positive light. "It's a great experience for our young drivers. The race fits well into the build-up to the season. And the mix with the African teams is also interesting," says Kurt van de Wouwer (Team Lotto-Dstny). "Above all, it's very nice to have another eight-day tour for this age category. Almost every World Tour team now has a development team. The boys need space to show themselves, they need race days. And it's a good school for them to see how they feel after eight stages," added Kevin Hulsmans, sporting director at Soudal - Quick Step.
Pierre Latour wins mountain time trial at Tour du Rwanda
However, the first sign of respect came from an oldie. Pierre Latour, 30 years old and equipped with the experience of nine Grand Tours, won the mountain time trial of the fifth stage. His success can be attributed to another interesting aspect of Rwanda. In January, Latour and his TotalEnergies team took part in a training camp lasting several weeks in the shadow of the majestic volcanic cones where the mountain time trial was held.
"The conditions are good. You can train at altitude, the roads are in good condition and the hotels are fine," says sporting director Lylian Lebreton. He assumes that his racing team will repeat the experiment next year and that other World Tour teams will follow suit, especially in view of the 2025 World Cycling Championships.
The new Teide?
Many Europeans with experience of Rwanda are convinced that the up-and-coming cycling nation could become an interesting training ground for World Tour teams. "It could become the new Teide," confirms David Louvet, national coach of the Rwandan team from France, referring to the training hotspot for many professionals on Tenerife.
On this tour, the past, present and future of cycling in Rwanda came together at kilometre five of the mountain time trial. This is where the former training centre of Team Africa Rising is located. It was set up by the Americans Jock Boyer and Kimberly Coats, who had been building up cycling in Rwanda since 2007 and 2009. They withdrew in 2017 due to massive disagreements with the cycling federation. This also involved allegations of corruption. In 2019, the then association president had to resign as a result. "As far as we were concerned, it was about invoices for bikes. We pointed out to the association president that these invoices had to be paid, but they simply didn't pay. Because we wanted to honour the agreements with the sponsor, we had to sell a few bikes from our mountain bike fleet to pay the bills ourselves," explains Coats.
The next president of the association also resigned at the end of 2023, also over allegations of corruption. Nevertheless, the Team Africa Rising training centre is once again being used by the national team, as well as by local and international teams.
Race for bicycle taxis
Because there are many pedicab drivers in the area who have high natural haematocrit levels due to the altitude, ex-professional Nathan Byukusenge regularly organises races for pedicabs, says Jean-Pierre van Zyl. "We used to recruit drivers when we passed them in training and they couldn't be shaken off with their heavy single-wheelers. I don't know how many watts they were pedalling. But they were simply good and we then invited them to join our team," he recalls. Scouting is now more systematic. There are also more races in the country.
Due to the growing infrastructure for young African riders, race organiser Colliou is convinced that he will soon have an African winner at his Tour de l'Avenir. "It could be five years from now. It will take a little longer for the Tour de France, but it will happen," he says.
New roads are being built
Incidentally, he finds it easier to organise races in Rwanda than in France. "The state institutions here are extremely helpful. The police secure the course. Where we need new roads, they build them. A few sections on the third stage through Nyungwe National Park have been rebuilt for us. Overall, the roads are of good quality. And there are also enough hotels of an acceptable standard," he says.
Developing Rwanda into a cycling country is part of the government's development strategy. "Tourism is one of our most important industries. In 2023, we generated revenues of over 550 million dollars here," explains Michaella Rugwizangoga. The graduate chemist - she worked at BASF in Ludwigshafen for several years - is Head of Tourism at the Rwanda Development Board, the state institution responsible for economic development and capital acquisition in the key sectors.
"Visit Rwanda" on the sleeves of FC Bayern Munich, FC Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain
"Sport is an important platform for us to draw attention to ourselves and attract tourists to the country," she explains. "Visit Rwanda" is therefore also written on the yellow jersey of the overall leader of the tour - as it is on the sleeves of the professional footballers from Bayern Munich, FC Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. The money for the football sponsorship deals comes from Rugwizangoga's authority. "It comes from our tourism revenue," she emphasises. And it is intended to further boost tourism. According to her, the deal with Arsenal FC has led to a 30 per cent increase in tourists from the UK over the past six years. The expenses for organising the World Cycling Championships also come from this pot. Seven million euros alone are expected to flow to the UCI as fees. The Rwanda Development Board wants to put together special packages for World Championship tourists, including a stay in the national parks. All in the hope that word will spread about Rwanda as a travel destination.
Rugwizangoga brushes aside critical voices that condemn investment in sport as sportwashing due to proven human rights violations both inside and outside the country, including kidnappings and assassinations of opponents of the regime. "Whenever you do something unusual, you get a headwind. We invest in sport to give our young people opportunities for development. We see investment in international sport primarily as a business," she says. And the country wants to turn an even bigger wheel in the future. "Why shouldn't we also co-host the Olympic Games or the FIFA World Cup in 15 years' time? You have to dream big," she says.
Tour du Rwanda as dress rehearsal for the 2025 World Cycling Championships
The country seems to be ready for the World Cycling Championships. The dress rehearsal went well. The Tour du Rwanda also offered the first opportunity to ride the World Championship mountain Mont Kigali. "The climb is really brutal. You start at the bottom, have a steeper section, then it flattens out again, then it gets steeper again. The last kilometre is really, really tough," says Bike-Aid pro Vinzent Dorn, describing his experience. "Even at the World Championships, some people will fall back and only the very strongest will get over it. It's a super selective mountain," he predicts.
Britain's Joseph Blackmore turned out to be a double triumphant on Mont Kigali. The 21-year-old, also a youngster, won the sixth stage in the mountain sprint. On the final day, he prevailed there as a soloist and even had enough strength to cross the finish line with a wheelie.
Too strong for Chris Froome
For his team-mate Chris Froome, the most famous professional of African descent to date, the Tour du Rwanda was above all a disappointment in sporting terms. He quickly fell behind in the team time trial, conceding more than five minutes. However, the time gaps were not included in the overall classification.
On stage 6 at Mont Kigali, he attempted a breakaway. He was also alone in front of the peloton for a few kilometres, marvelled at by farmers who quickly came out of their fields to cheer on the riders. However, he was caught again long before the final climb. Even the peloton in Rwanda is now too strong for the four-time Tour de France winner. That is also an indication of growth.
