Rwandanprofessional cyclist, Adrien Niyonshuti, who rides for South Africa-based Team Dimension Data, has said he is expected to race in the Grand Tour in 2016.

Niyonshuti recently extended his contract with Team Dimension Data (formerly Team MTN-Qhubeka) for the 2016 season, which will be his eighth season with Africa’s top cycling team.

Niyonshuti, Rwanda’s only professional rider is looking forward to racing in his first Grand Tour.

"I am glad to stay one more year and now I would like to prove what I am able to do to raise the level of the team,” said the 28-year old Niyonshuti.

Olympian Niyonshuti was supposed to compete in Tour du Rwanda before he broke his elbow last month at the Memorial Pantani, Italy. His last two years at Team MTN-Qhubeka have been marked by some hitches.

The Rwandan rider suffered deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism after a flight in February 2013 and was ruled out for several months.

Grand Tour

In road bicycle racing, a Grand Tour refers to one of the three major European professional cycling stage races: Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España.

Collectively they are termed the Grand Tours, and all three races are similar in format being multi-week races with daily stages.

They have a special status in the UCI regulations: more points for the UCI World Tour are distributed in Grand Tours than in other races, and they are the only stage races allowed to last longer than 14 days.

The Tour de France is the oldest and most prestigious of all three, and also the world’s most famous cycling race. The Giro d’Italia is the second most important and has occasionally been as popular as the Tour.