Team Rwanda legend Adrien Niyonshuti says that cycling was instrumental in his healing and getting his life together after the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi.
"Cycling changed my life. Thanks to the sport, I help my family members, and I was able to form my own family."
Niyonshuti, who lost six brothers and over sixty family members, miraculously escaped with his parents. However, his father passed on in 2008.
"I have received many things and achieved a lot by being on Team Rwanda, so many good things that I can’t even name it all. To be a professional rider came as an answer to my prayers."
Besides having extended families to support, Niyonshuti owns a good house, a car and a cycling academy, all courtesy of money he earned from cycling over the years.
"Sport, and cycling in my case, has the power to change lives," he says, challenging the youngsters to ‘take it seriously’ and it will take them places they have never imagined.
Niyonshuti emphasises: "I am very glad that I made my country proud. Being a professional rider for many years was my dream. Competing at the highest level is not an easy achievement, and it is a memory I will always cherish.”
The 32-year old made headlines world over when he was named as the Team Rwanda captain at the London 2012 Olympics, at the age of 25, and to him, this was a big dream achieved.
"Cycling gave me the opportunity to overcome the scars of the past and really focus on what I wanted to achieve in life,” he noted.
Not only did he survive one of the worst atrocities in modern history, but Niyonshuti overcome the odds to carry his country’s flag at London 2012, before making history as the first Rwandan rider to participate in two Olympic Games during the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Niyonshuti’s life changed when he was noticed by a trio of top international riders who came to Rwanda to help with a local race: Jonathan "Jock” Boyer, the first U.S. cyclist to compete in the Tour de France in 1981; fellow international competitor Tom Ritchey; and Swiss mountain bike legend Thomas Frischknecht.
They all spotted Niyonshuti’s raw talent and set about giving him the chance to reach his potential. Like they say, the rest is history.
Niyonshuti has excelled in road racing and individual time trialing against the clock, and remains the first and only Rwandan cyclist to ever feature for a UCI World Tour Team – Dimension Data for Qhubeka, of South Africa.
The Kwibuka25 – the term used for the ongoing commemoration events – started on April 7 and will run through July 3, signifying the number of days that over one million lives were lost during the government-backed slaughter.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com