Minister commends cyclists, Adrien gets new contract

Minister of Culture and Sports, Protais Mitali has praised the level of national cycling team riders but asked them to do better in the upcoming championships.

Sunday, November 04, 2012

Minister of Culture and Sports, Protais Mitali has praised the level of national cycling team riders but asked them to do better in the upcoming championships.Team Rwanda flies out today for the Africa Championships, scheduled for November 6-11 in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. From there, the team will embark on preparations for this month’s Tour of Rwanda race.Mitari made the comments when he visited the team’s training camp in Musanze on Friday. He commented the riders for putting Rwandan cycling on the African map and urged them to improve in the coming competitions.He told them, "The country is proud of what you have achieved, and we need you to do well in the coming Africa Championships and Tour of Rwanda, and I hope you do much better than last year.” Mitali also told the riders that the government will continue to support cycling. Meanwhile, Adrien Niyonshuti, who claimed back to back Tour of Kigali titles, has been offered a new two-year contract extension by his South Afri­can UCI Continental team MTN Qhube­ka."I am happy in my team and mo­tivated to do well for them and I hope to continue to build my career with them,” the 25-year-old rider told Sunday Sport.Team Rwanda includes, Niyonshuti, Abraham Ruhumuriza, Janvier Hadi andJoseph Biziyaremye while Valens Ndayisenga will compete in the junior category.