What a week that was! Rwanda threw a big, sport-cycling party with the whole world invited, and pulled it off. Spectacularly. With resounding success. The cameras of the whole sporting world were focused on the Rwandan capital the whole of the past week, and Kigali did not disappoint. It hosted an event for the ages; one that will serve as a benchmark for future hosts for years to come. ALSO READ: Legendary Burundian musician Khadja Nin ‘so proud’ to witness first UCI World Championships in Africa It was befitting, given this was the first time the UCI Road World Championship has been hosted on African soil (am telling you, we Rwandans are spoilt!). The best cyclists in the world, from all the continents converged on Kigali. Ready to ride for honours, and they delivered. We were treated to a world-class sporting bonanza; one that will long linger in memory. ALSO READ: Eritrea star Girmay calls for opportunities for Africa’s cycling prospects Obviously, there were some that were up to their usual ludicrous games of sabotage. Some like the Kinshasa regime which interdicted its own cycling team from traveling to Kigali then attempted to lie that it was “Rwanda that stopped them!” ALSO READ: UCI 2025: Why the fury over Rwanda’s ‘sportswashing’? No sensible person was buying it of course, one reason being that by now most people are used to such infantile behaviour from the regime of Felix Tshisekedi and its propagandists. The Tshisekedists curtailed the dreams of their sportsmen and women – like they’ve done not very long ago when they yanked their teams from the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for the reason that team jerseys have to feature the Visit Rwanda logo, which is one of its major sponsors. They did the same to their soccer teams, like TP Mazembe which they yanked out of the African club championships. Talk of petty conduct! In any case, only the Congolese cyclists were the losers; because only their regime decided to behave the way they did. Even Belgium, some of whose politicians – for their own ends – have been closely involved in machinations with Kinshasa to sabotage Rwanda’s development goals, knows better to separate sport from politics. Ah, well, what can you do about pizza deliverers (at least those with no prior life experiences to prepare themselves for high-level politics) who all of a sudden find themselves in charge of an entire country? But back to the championship, it was, to use a few words the very young are so fond of: cool! Awesome! The organization, well, whoever coordinated it deserves the highest accolades. Thousands of fans both local and international lined the routes to render the event memorable. ALSO READ: Open-visa, infrastructure-ready: Why Rwanda is rewriting hosting rules Rwanda showcased itself, which is the point of hosting events of this magnitude, very ably. Now – thanks to an army of hundreds of journalists, and their media cameras – many more people from around the globe know of the wonderful infrastructure, built from scratch in the past three decades, that so impresses those that come here the first time. The roads are the showcase feature (we are talking about road-racing after all). But they, as well as the five-star hotels dotting the Rwandan capital; the signature convention center; the first-rate stadia and arenas, together offer visual summations of this country’s development journey much better than any words could. Now the world’s sport fandom has caught a glimpse of this and, who knows what negative perceptions have been upended in the process? Many more people this moment know that Rwandans are a friendly, welcoming, cheerful people that love visitors, and treat visitors very well. And that Rwanda is very clean. A lot more people from around the globe now know Rwanda is a must-visit place, but this adds a major boost to the campaign. More pertinent for those looking to invest money: more than a few individuals, groups, or organizations with deep pockets, catching a glimpse of this country for the first time, might be thinking: a country that’s so organized, efficient, and so good at organization surely might be the right place to invest one’s money! I wouldn’t be surprised if Rwanda Development Board, even as I write this, is fielding a bit more inquiries than usual about investment opportunities. As for the average Rwandan, if popular sentiment is anything to go by, they are certain there isn’t anything beyond the abilities of this leadership to organize. Not mentioning no dream too big to attempt. Fans of Formula 1 especially are licking their chops, excited by talk Rwanda has put in a bid to host a race. Everyone is saying, why not? We have hosted BAL. We have hosted the FIFA Congress (in 2023), first time in Africa. Now we’ve just done the UCI Championships. We have proven, time and again, that we are up to the task of organizing mega events. Bring F1 on!
