Niyonshuti can inspire many

Had he been a footballer, he would probably be more famous than he is as Rwanda’s top cyclist—maybe I should also add that he’s the only professional bicycle racer.People in this country are more familiar with names like Olivier Karekezi, Haruna Niyonzima, Jean Baptiste Mugiraneza, Bokota and without mentioning names, even the most average Primus National Football League players but not Adrien Niyonshuti!You can say football or soccer in other parts of the world, is the number one sport in most countries, Rwanda inclusive, and it’s probably not accidental that football players take more attention to a degree that even non-football lovers can easily get to know who these players are.Not cycling, especially in a country like Rwanda where the sport is not only among the least well-known among the community but also, and very importantly, struggling to get into full gear after all the years of existence.I’m not a big fan of local cycling, but the virtue of my job description, I can’t run away from following it quite closely. I try my best to be on top of issues—least I look bogus in a profession I have served for now over a decade. When I started at The New Times ten years ago, Abraham Ruhumuriza was Rwanda’s top cyclist and nobody knew Adrien even existed then but fast forward, and it’s the other way round. The difference is the former remains a big force in local cycling.Rwandan cycling has potential to grow from its current state into something bigger, but that requires a lot more than what the people running the sport can afford in terms of money and technical manpower.Born 25 years ago in Rwamagana in the Eastern Province, Niyonshuti, (I prefer to call him by his second name), began amateur cycling at the age of 16. In 2006, he came to the attention of a former American professional cyclist, Jonathan Boyer, the current Team Rwanda head trainer. Adrien lost six of his brothers during the Genocide of 1994 against Tutsis but that didn’t deter him from pursuing a career to fend for himself and his remaining siblings—he took up cycling, and look where it has taken him.He is not only the first Rwandan to become a professional bicycle racer but soon is going to be the first to race in Europe for his South African UCI Continental team MTN Qhubeka. The down to earth athlete came to the attention of Boyer in 2006 during the first Wooden Bike Classic event staged in the Northern Province. After riding for the national team, Adrien secured his first professional contract with Team MTN Energade in 2009.There are two bright talents in Janvier Hadi and Joseph Biziyaremye, like Adrien have attended the Africa Continental Centre Training Camp in South Africa.The pair forms the core of the national team, which is heading for the Africa Championship slated on 6-11 November in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.Hadi, 20, is among the 10 African cyclists, who will be in UCI Continental Team (for Africa) for the 2013 season.Adrien attended the same camp in 2008 where he was offered a contract by the directeur sportif of UCI Continental Team MTN Energade Douglas Ryder.The man, who specialises in Mountain bike racing, started his first UCI European road race in August 2009 when he participated in the 2009 Tour of Ireland, hence becoming the first Rwandan to compete in the European professional race.In 2011, Adrien qualified to represent Rwanda in the cross-country mountain bike race during the 2012 Summer Olympics in London to again become the first cyclist to achieve the feat.There were no medal expectations for any of Rwanda’s athletes at the London Games, Niyonshuti, who was his country’s flagbearer at the opening ceremony in London, came out a winner in many respects.But with his star growing faster than a burning candle, one can say, at least there’s a ray of light at the end of the tunnel.Nonetheless, him alone is not enough, the country needs more of his kind and I believe, not hope, that the likes of Hadi and Biziyaremye can take inspiration from Adrien, who this week signed a two-year contract extension with Team MTN Qhubeka.