Six Rwandan cyclists are among the field of top riders on the continent and beyond that is battling for top honors in the Gabon race dubbed, ‘La Tropicale Amissa Bongo’.

The six-day competition started yesterday, January 13 and is scheduled to run until Sunday, January 18 in the Gabonese capital Libreville.

The event has attracted ten African teams, which include Rwanda, Eritrea, Cameroon, Libya, Morocco, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Ivory Coast and the hosts Gabon, who will field two teams.  

Five professional teams from Europe are also taking part in the event. They include; Team Bourgas from Bulgaria, Francaise Jeux and Bouygues telecom, both representing France, Libertis Seguros from Portugal and House of Paints, the only African professional team from South Africa.

The Rwandan team comprises six riders; Abraham Ruhumuriza, Obed Ruvogera, Uwase Nyandwi, Jean de Dieu Rafiki, Daniel Nyendahayo and Nicodem Habiyambere.

The road cycling race is part of the International Cycling Union, UCI African tour, and consists of five prolonged stages.

French team, Francaise de Jeux has dominated the last three consecutive editions.

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