Today
Stage 1 Pouma - Kribi – 154.4km
TEAM Rwanda, the national cycling team, start their quest for top honours at the Tour du Cameroun today.
The 15th edition of the UCI Africa Tour 2.2 race category gets underway today and will run through June 23 with a total of 10 teams from Africa and Europe (clubs and national teams) participating.
Team Rwanda roster of six cyclists, coached by the national team’s assistant coach Felix Sempoma, have been in the west African country’s capital of Yaoundé since Wednesday.
They will this morning travel to southwest of the country in Pouma municipality where the first stage will be flagged off, heading to the resort town and port of Kribi.
The riders will cover a distance of 154.4km.
Sempoma’s star-studded roster will be led by the 2015 Tour du Rwanda winner Jean Bosco Nsengimana, who in 2016 won a stage in this particular tour.
Other riders on the team include former national team skipper Janvier Hadi, Patrick Byukusenge, Bonaventure Uwizeyimana, Didier Munyaneza and Rene Ukiniwabo.
Speaking to Saturday Sport on Friday in a phone interview from Cameroon, Sempoma said: "We arrived well in Yaoundé, safe and sound. We had a training session today (Friday) and will be heading to Pouma tomorrow for the opening stage.”
In Cameroon, Team Rwanda will be aiming to replicate their recent impressive feat in international races where they have won two of the three races they participated in so far in 2018.
In January, Africa’s highest rated rider Joseph Areruya won the biggest cycling race on the continent, LaTopicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon, before claiming the inaugural Tour de l’Espoir in Cameroun in February.
At the 17th edition of Tour du Senegal last month, another Rwandan, Bonaventure Uwizeyimana, finished fourth while Team Rwanda finished third out of 19 teams in the contest.
Since 2010, Team Rwanda riders have won a total of seven stages at the Tour du Cameroun through Abraham Ruhumuriza, Obed Ruvogera, Emile Bintunimana and Gasore Hategeka and Jean Bosco Nsengimana.
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