The Soudal-Quick Step development squad will not be at the start of the Tour of Rwanda on February 23rd. The Belgian team made this decision following recent unrest at the border between Rwanda and Congo. "We examined the situation and were concerned about the start, finish, and hotel location near the high-risk area," Soudal-QuickStep CEO Jurgen Fore explained to Sporza: "We decided not to send 20 people without a clear safety guarantee".

The Rwandan Cycling Federation and Tour of Rwanda organizers, despite their disappointment with the Belgian team's decision, preferred not to comment, accepting their decision.

Concerns arose after the M23 rebel group took control of Goma, the largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo, located near the Rwandan border. Some stages of the Tour of Rwanda, scheduled from February 23rd to March 2nd, pass near this region, with teams expected to have an overnight stop in Rubavu, just 10 km from Goma.

The Rwandan Cycling Federation (FERWACY) and race organizers are sorry about the choice but emphasize that the situation in the country is absolutely safe and that recent events do not involve Rwandan territories at all.

FERWACY recently addressed safety concerns during the Tour du Rwanda, assuring participants and spectators that everything will proceed as planned from February 23rd to March 2nd, 2025, without any modifications, as they are not deemed necessary.

Organizers stressed that currently there are no signals that the ongoing conflict in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo might affect Rwanda. "We have taken all necessary measures to ensure the safety of cyclists, teams, and supporters, and the event will be safe and enjoyable," the race press office said. "Rwanda has already demonstrated high safety standards, as we did during Covid. Teams have appreciated our organizational capacity, and while we understand and accept team choices, we prefer not to comment to avoid misunderstandings. We remain surprised by some statements in foreign media." Rwanda is no longer the country of the 1990s genocide, and significant progress has been made.

"We have decided not to replace the Soudal-Quick Step development team with another team because it's too late. We don't want low-quality teams; quantity doesn't equal quality. If this had happened in January, we could have replaced them, but today it's not possible. European teams have already come to Rwanda for our race three times and know that their safety will always be guaranteed, as we have already done."

Registered for the race are Israel Premier-Tech, which has a strong relationship with Rwanda, TotalEnergies, and development teams from Lotto, UAE Team Emirates Gen Z, and Team Picnic PostNL. At the start, alongside various African teams from Angola, Rwanda, South Africa, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, there will also be the UCI WWC Men's Team, which will bring a selection of riders from its center based in Rwanda.