Tour du Rwanda (3/3) : Blue everywhere

Rwandan riders are anything but stingy in their efforts. Here accosted by a fan, Didier Munyaneza spent the whole day at the front. He takes the lead in the points classification at the end of this stage, and will go forward as early as the next one.

1. Eric Manizabayo 2. Didier Munyaneza 3. Samuel Niyonkuru 4. Éric Manizabayo 5. Alexandre Mayer and Didier Munyaneza 6-7. Shemu Nsengiyumva, Alexandre Mayer and Didier Munyaneza 8. Didier Munyaneza 9. Etienne Tuyizere 10. Dillon Geary, Yoel Habteab, Etienne Tuyizere and Shemu Nsengiyumva

📍Huye / Rusizi / Nyungwe, Rwanda February 2024

Tour du Rwanda (2/3) : Fervent and curious crowds

Here in Rwanda, the bicycle is the means of transport by excellence. Hill after hill, behind the handlebars of old heavy machines of about thirty kilos, many Rwandans transport their crops, goods, or firewood daily. Some, following the example of their national heroes, even make their ranges as bike-taxi pilots, before hoping one day to join this peloton. So when the national race passes nearby their villages, Rwandans rush to the side of the road. The enthusiasm is impressive: in terms of public, the Tour du Rwanda has nothing to envy the Tour de France. In terms of landscapes either. And when the riders take the roads of national parks, it is the monkeys who clap their hands.

11-15. Craze around the Tour 16. Jeremie Ngendahayo (May Stars) on home ground with his friends at the start of the second stage in Huye 17. Behind Shemu Nsengiyumva (May Stars), people crowd every inch of place available to see the Tour arrive in Rusizi 18. Cameramans and photographers happy to get a pic with Moise Mugisha 19. Etienne Tuyizere in the breakaway on the second stage 20. One of the many L’Hoest’s monkeys watching the race pass in Nyungwe national park.

📍Huye / Rusizi / Nyungwe, Rwanda February 2024

Tour du Rwanda (1/3) : Against the clock

Last adjustments before the start of the race. For a warm-up: a team time-trial. Rwandans, Eritreans, Ethiopians and other Africans stand ready. Next year, Kigali will host its first world cycling championships, the first to be held on the continent.

21. Merhawi Kudus (Team Eritrea) 22. Vainqueur Masengesho and his teammates (Team Rwanda) 23. Rwanda supporter 24. David Louvet and Samuel Niyonkuru (Team Rwanda) 25. Anton Wiersma (Bike Aid) 26. Dawit Yemane (Bike Aid) 27. Yoel Habteab (Bike Aid) 28. Habteab, Yemane and their mechanic (Bike Aid) 29. Tsgabu Grmay (Team World Cycling Centre) 30. Shemu Nsengiyumva and Jeremie Ngendahayo (May Stars)

📍Kigali, Rwanda February 2024