Nineteen teams are currently battling their way around the roads of Rwanda in the 16th edition of the Tour du Rwanda.
As is the tradition, the UCI World Cycling Centre’s (WCC) Continental Development Satellite in Paarl, South Africa – the UCI WCC Africa - is represented by a team of riders from different African countries. This year, the Rwandan stage race is of particular significance for the WCC Africa Team members, who are part of a wider Africa 2025 Strategy to prepare riders from the continent for the 2025 UCI Road World Championships in Kigali, Rwanda.
The Tour du Rwanda is one of the Strategy’s key events to give African riders international racing experience. UCI WCC Africa Director Jean-Pierre van Zyl said: “They will learn a lot this week. They need to adapt their mental and tactical approach because of the high quality of the field. There is less room for mistakes.”
The WCC Africa Team was selected for the Tour du Rwanda during a training camp that took place in Musanze, Rwanda, from 18 January – 14 February. Of the 14 athletes on the camp, the following five are competing this week in Rwanda:
Ayoub Ferkous (Algeria), Awet Aman Goniche (Eritrea), Janvier Shyaka (Rwanda), Kiya Rogora (Ethiopia) and their team leader Tsgabu Grmay (Ethiopia) who has several years’ experience riding for UCI WorldTeams and has the role of helping them through the challenging eight stages.
Grmay, now 32, joined the UCI WCC Africa in 2010 where he was given the opportunity to race in events on the UCI calendar. His dream of turning professional came closer when he was invited to join the UCI WCC in Aigle, Switzerland. “The rest is history,” says the seasoned athlete who will retire from competition after the Tour du Rwanda. “The UCI World Cycling Centre was the biggest turning point in my life, helping me turn pro. I was lucky to have this opportunity and I will always appreciate what the WCC Africa did for me.”
Staff members from the same background
At this week’s Tour du Rwanda, the WCC Africa Team’s support staff are also former athletes from the centre: coach Clint Hendriks (South Africa), mechanic Benedict Moqumo (South Africa) and soigneur Innocent Uwaungu (Rwanda). All four are delighted to help athletes from the centre that launched their own careers.
Coach Hendriks said: “It is a privilege to be here, to be a part of the centre, and to give back the little bit that I can. I can use my experience from the past couple of years to motivate the riders to achieve and reach their goals - whether that is making it to the UCI WorldTour or a level below. I’m really happy to help them when it comes to discipline, a skill that can be applied not just here but also outside of cycling for growth and development in other environments.”
Moqumo joined the UCI WCC Africa at the end of 2018 when finishing his engineering studies. After a cycling career which included numerous podium results, he trained as a bike mechanic (UCI Level 2 certification) and now works in this role for UCI WCC Africa.
“I discovered a lot about myself on the bike and off the bike,” he says of his days as a UCI WCC Africa athlete. “With patience, discipline, dedication and trusting the process, success is possible. Now, as a mechanic, I am making sure the next big talent of Africa trains and races on the best equipment they can ever touch.”
According to Van Zyl, it is a huge advantage to have the satellite’s former athletes as support staff for the team at the Tour du Rwanda.
“It qualifies them in the eyes of the athletes as they have come from similar backgrounds and succeeded. They know first-hand the social, cultural and financial challenges to reach the top. These athletes hang off the lips of the support staff members.
“It makes me proud to see our former athletes now assisting and guiding upcoming riders. It’s amazing to see the athlete development pathway come full circle. It reinforces the belief in upcoming athletes that there is a future for them in cycling. Even if they do not become professionals, they can still stay in the sport as coaches, mechanics and other supporting roles.”
UCI WCC Satellites: a role that goes beyond athlete training
UCI World Cycling Centre Director Jacques Landry has travelled out from Switzerland for the final stages of the Tour du Rwanda. He confirmed that the aim of the UCI WCC and its Continental Development Satellites strategically located worldwide is not only to identify and train talented athletes, but also to ensure that each region in the world has sufficient qualified people working in cycling’s different professions to provide the athletes with the necessary support to reach their full potential.
“The example we are currently witnessing in Africa perfectly reflects what the UCI WCC and its satellites aim to achieve by working together. We train athletes and provide courses for mechanics and coaches so that each National Federation affiliated with the UCI can be as autonomous as possible.
“Since 2005, the UCI WCC Africa has trained hundreds of athletes and taught them life skills necessary for their own cycling careers and beyond. It is very rewarding when they choose to reconvert into cycling professions and help up-and-coming talents who dream of a career in cycling.”
Africa 2025 Strategy through to the UCI Worlds in Kigali
The other athletes on the Africa 2025 Strategy camp remained in Musanze until 14 February, where they were training for the Africa Games in Ghana (8-23 March).
The Africa 2025 Strategy will continue with an altitude training camp in Rwanda (14 April to 21 May) where five participants will be selected to compete in the Tour of Algeria (12-21 May). The athletes will then be based in Europe – Switzerland and France – to train and race through until the UCI Road World Championships taking place in Zurich, Switzerland (21-29 September).
The final training camp of the year will be held in November at the UCI WCC Africa satellite in Paarl before the final run-in of camps and races in 2025 leading up to the UCI Road World Championships in Kigali.