Rwanda’s brand new Youth Racing Cup is well underway after the successful first two rounds of the 12-event series, which is open to all the country’s young riders.
The Youth Racing Cup was created by the Youth Commission, a body recently set up by the National Federation (FERWACY) in a bid to see the country’s next generation of riders competitive on the international stage. Their first major objective is the UCI Road World Championships taking place in the Rwandan capital Kigali in 2025.
“The kids that are now racing as cadets (Under 17) might be on the start line of the UCI World Championships in 2025 as Juniors,” declares Rwanda Development Project Lead Simon Hupperetz.
Simon Hupperetz has been responsible for setting up the FERWACY Youth Commission and guiding its members in the creation of the Youth Racing Cup. He doesn’t claim to be revolutionizing the development of young riders but says it is a new concept for his country of adoption.
“We try to have a programme that makes sense in terms of the development of young riders from 11 to 18. It’s the first time in Rwanda that we have races organised for Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17 riders, whereas the Junior categories already existed when I first moved here (to Rwanda) in 2015.
“It is nothing new compared to the European concepts of youth racing, but it is adapted to Rwanda and the means we have to work with,” he explains. “We are keeping the cost of each race to a minimum, and there is no registration fee for the moment. We don’t want to scare anyone off. We want to keep it as open as possible.”
For this reason, the racing also includes categories for young riders on mountain bikes or the everyday bike they use for transport.
While standalone races have been organised in the past, this is the first time that young riders have the chance to race in a series with an overall classification.
“We are making clubs aware of the need to take part in this Youth Racing Cup but also to educate and train the young riders, respecting training durations. We had about 100 different youth in the first two races. That’s very encouraging. Our goal is to reach 250 kids in 2025.”
The majority of rounds of this year’s Youth Racing Cup are taking place at the Field of Dreams bike centre in Bugesera, launched by UCI ProTeam Israel – Premier Tech.
The 1.2km circuit, is technical and undulating, testing not only the riders’ speed but also their skills and tactics.
“When Rwandan riders race internationally, they lack tactics and skills on the bike,” points out Hupperetz. “This circuit is concentrated, short, intense, and requires riders to use all their skills to get around the turns.”
“Build it, and they will come!”
— Israel – Premier Tech (@IsraelPremTech) July 20, 2023
Our ‘Field of Dreams’ bike center in Bugesera came to life during the Rwanda Youth Racing Cup this weekend.
This initiative, guided by the UCI and organized by a team of local coaches, nurtured our future cycling stars from U13 to U19. It’s a… pic.twitter.com/DFw38YWYya
In the future, locations will diversify with rounds planned for Kigali, Musanze in the north-west and Rwamagana in the east.
Barbecues and pump track activities ensure a festival atmosphere, but the priority remains talent detection, and the best will be invited to two weekend training camps in December, also organised by the FERWACY Youth Commission
FERWACY Youth Commission
The Commission’s members are made up of FERWACY volunteers, coaches and former riders, some of whom did not benefit from the same structured platform to launch their own careers. Hupperetz says that following the success of the Youth Racing Cup, their aim is to use it as a catalyst to introduce a more structured approach to developing talent, including the establishment of a licence system for riders, and clear regulations. This year, for the first time, the National Championships will include races for the youth categories (Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17).
The riders’ entourage is also a focus.
“The next goal for 2024 is to create a national coach certification system in Rwanda,” explains Simon Hupperetz. “We will work with schools, physical education teachers and other coaches who want to get involved in cycling.
“We want to provide them with a first approach to cycling coaching, so they can then access UCI coaching courses (Levels 1, 2 and 3). Ultimately, I would like these coaches to be able to train other coaches.
“We have an Agenda and we are working on a series of goals. It’s all hugely exciting!”