Rwanda’s top female cyclist Diane Ingabire has admitted defeat to her rival Djazilla Mwamikazi in the national championship but insists that ‘regrets’ are not part of her takeaways from the tournament. Ingabire, who rides for German-based club Canyon Sram, lost the 2025 championship to Mwamikazi of Ndabaga Cycling Team who won the 126-kilometer road race with 3 hours 13 minutes and 25 seconds. Ingabire had won three consecutive champions in a row, wit the most recent coming in 2024, before fast-paced rider Mwamikazi outsprinted her towards the finish lines in Gasanze by just milliseconds to take the crown home on Sunday, June 29. It wasn’t the result that the rider expected but she returned to her club in German feeling motivated by the lessons learnt from the competition. “I have no regrets in losing the title. It is rather a motivation and a learning lesson for me,” Ingabire told Times Sport. “I am going to work hard and I will come back stronger. For sure I can overcome this and come back stronger.” “It (defeat) happens in life and in a game, especially where losing is part of the game but I will keep working and I will come back. I am heading to my club and I have to remain positive and keep my head up,” Diane Ingabire who traveled to Germany on Monday. Ingabire believes Mwamikazi’s latest challenge is a wakeup for her to work even harder as the two look poised to represent Rwanda at the UCI Road World Championship which will take place in Kigali from September 21-28. “This is good challenge for me and it is motivation for me to work hard again to improve. I am only focused on my professional career,” she said. Born in July 2001, Ingabire is a Rwandan road racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Women's Continental Team Canyon–SRAM zondacrypto Generation in Germany. Seven years have gone since the cyclist found a new adventure in cycling in which she has been enjoying success in both domestic and international cycling events, with no fewer than eight podium finishes at the African Continental Championships on the road. In 2024, she struck her first gold medal at the event, winning the mixed team relay with the Rwandan National Team. Earlier in the same year, she earned a noteworthy bronze medal in the criterium at the African Games. In 2023, she finished at the podium in all five stages of the Tour du Burundi Féminin, winning two stages and claiming the overall general classification title. Ingabire also represented Rwanda on the global stage at prestigious events such as the Commonwealth Games and the UCI Road World Championships. Most notably, she became an Olympian, competing in both the Time Trial and Road Race at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
