All eyes will be on Rwanda as local riders look to shine on home soil when the UCI Road World Championships finally arrive in Kigali, from September 21 to 28. Rwanda head coach David Louvet trimmed his roster to 26 riders, down from the 34 initially summoned in August. ALSO READ: Riders to keep an eye on in the 2025 UCI World road champs Times Sport presents some of the Rwandan riders expected to make headlines in Kigali. Moise Mugisha The 28-year-old boasts arguably the strongest palmarès among Rwandan riders. A former bicycle porter in Musanze, Mugisha transitioned into elite cycling by winning the African U23 time trial championship in 2018. He has since added stage victories at the Tour du Cameroun (2019, 2021) and earned a podium finish in the overall classification of the Tour du Bénin (2022). His biggest milestone came in 2022 when he became the only Rwandan to win a stage after the Tour du Rwanda was upgraded to UCI 2.1 status. Mugisha is representing Rwanda at the UCI Road World Championships for the third time, having previously competed in Leuven 2021 and Glasgow 2023. Vainqueur Masengesho Masengesho has emerged as one of Rwanda’s most consistent performers in stage racing. His standout results include a 7th-place finish at the 2025 Tour du Rwanda — the best by a local rider. He also won the Best Young Rider classification at the 2025 Tour of Algeria. At 23, he has already posted top-15 finishes in both the Tour du Bénin and Tour du Cameroun, underlining his ability to perform across Africa’s toughest stage races. Eric Manizabayo Manizabayo, 28, began as a bike taxi rider before turning professional. He won the 2022 Rwandan National Road Race Championship and represented Rwanda at the 2024 Paris Olympics. He has multiple top-10 stage finishes at the Tour du Rwanda and has competed at the African Continental Championships, where he placed in the top 20 in the elite road race category. Known for his aggressive climbing, he has been a regular presence in breakaways during continental tours. ALSO READ: Pogačar in Kigali to defend Road World Championships title Shemu Nsengiyumva Shemu Nsengiyumva, who rides for the Java–Inovotec Pro Team, is recognized as Rwanda’s strongest pure climber. He won the 2025 National Time Trial title and previously claimed the Best Climber jersey at the Tour du Rwanda. Now 27, he also holds the Best Young Rider title from the 2019 Tour du Cameroun and has multiple mountain classification podiums in regional tours. Patrick Byukusenge Byukusenge’s career highlights include victories at the 2015 Western Circuit and the 2016 Race to Remember, as well as a stage win at the Tour du Cameroun in 2019. He added the Rwandan National Road Race title in 2023 before joining the French club Pédale Pilotine–Maxo Location in 2024 to broaden his international experience. Now 34, Byukusenge has been part of Team Rwanda since 2014 and has raced extensively across the continent. Xaverine Nirere Following in the footsteps of her brother, two-time Tour du Rwanda winner Valens Ndayisenga, Nirere has carved out her own identity as one of Africa’s finest female cyclists. She has twice represented Rwanda at the World Championships (Glasgow 2023 and Zurich 2024) and brought home multiple medals from the African Continental Championships. In 2025, she reached a career peak by clinching overall victory at the Pupkewitz Megabuild Windhoek Women Tour in Namibia, thanks to a bold solo win that showcased her tactical brilliance. Diane Ingabire Ingabire, 24, is already a three-time Rwandan national champion in both road race and time trial disciplines. She rides with Canyon–SRAM Generation, a German development team affiliated with the UCI Women’s World Tour squad. Internationally, she has recorded top-20 finishes in European races such as the Vuelta a Burgos Féminas and placed in the top 10 in both the road race and time trial at the 2024 African Continental Championships. ALSO READ: Here are new passenger bus routes during Cycling World Championships Yvonne Masengesho At just 17, Masengesho has dominated Rwanda’s junior cycling scene, winning both the U19 national road race and time trial titles in 2025. She has also represented Rwanda in regional UCI Africa Tour junior events, securing multiple top-10 finishes. Jazilla Mwamikazi Mwamikazi is the reigning 2025 national road race champion. She has been racing in France with local clubs, gaining valuable European experience. The 21-year-old has already represented Rwanda at the 2023 Glasgow World Championships and the 2025 Tour de l’Avenir Femmes, where she finished in the top 30 overall. She is also a graduate of the UCI World Cycling Centre Africa programme and is preparing to compete in the inaugural U23 Women’s Road Race at the 2025 Kigali World Championships. Beyond road cycling, Mwamikazi claimed gold at the 2023 CAC MTB African Championships in Johannesburg, South Africa.
