Team Rwanda cyclist rider Didier Munyaneza believes it is high time for Rwandan riders to improve their performance and carry Rwandan flag high during the upcoming Tour du Rwanda 2025. The 817-kilometer continental cycling event, which is in its 17th edition, will kick off on February 23and will run through March 2, attracting more than 80 top riders from across the globe. Rwanda has had a relatively poor performance since the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) competition sanctioned the event to 2.1 in the UCI Africa Tour series in 2019. The race has since been dominated by foreign teams on general classification. Munyaneza, who has had a promising performance in the past editions, said that Team Rwanda is ready to do everything possible to perform well at this year’s race which they have been preparing since November. “The training has been going well and we hope to show what we have been doing in training during the competition and I believe our performance at Tour du Rwanda 2025 will improve this time,” Munyaneza said. ALSO READ: UCI unveils routes for 2025 Road World Championship in Rwanda Munyaneza made the pledge after beating rival Etienne Tuyizere to the finish line at Amahoro Stadium to claim Amahoro Criterium race on Saturday, February 8. The race was organized by local cycling governing body (Ferwacy) to test the level of riders who will represent Rwanda at the much-anticipated Tour du Rwanda. It attracted two continental team Java Inovotec and May Stars as well the national team, Team Rwanda, which will all represent Rwanda at the annual cycling race. The trio is part of the 16-team peloton confirmed for the cycling fiesta which will reach all parts of the country. Chasing glory Since 2014, Rwandans had dominated the annual competition until 2018 when the race went to level of 2.1, where they have so far failed to impress. ALSO READ: Rwanda hires top European firms to organise 2025 UCI Road World Champs Rwandans who managed to win the Tour du Rwanda include Valens Ndayisenga (2014 and 2016), Jean Bosco Nsengimana (2015), Joseph Areruya (2017), and Samuel Mugisha (2018). However, no Rwandan rider has won a stage in the race’s last five editions since the race was granted 2.1 status by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) in 2019. Ever since, 28-year-old Moise Mugisha made history as the only Rwandan to win a stage when he claimed the final stage of Tour du Rwanda in 2022. ALSO READ: Rwanda’s unchartered road to 2025 UCI World Championship Two of the eight stages will, in fact, be run on part of the world championship circuits, the prologue stage which will offer a preview of the timed events and the road race on the last day to round off the week in style. “There will be 16 teams, we all have the goal of winning, but we, as Team Rwanda, must do as much as possible to do better as a country which will host the World Championship. This is a valuable occasion to show that we are capable of challenging for top prizes, Munyaneza said. This final stage will already give a glimpse of the difficulties that await riders around the world at the end of the 2025 season. The route of the 2025 edition will consist of long climbs during most of the stages, with the passage of Mount Kigali once again included in this program in the colors of the World Cup, which will make the Tour of Rwanda the most difficult event at the start of the season.
