We last saw her at the end of February, when she was present at the inauguration of the World Cycling Center satellite pole inside the Amahoro Stadium in Kigali. Outside the futuristic arena, it was the day of the prologue of the Tour du Rwanda. We find the little bird Jazilla Umwamikazi on the top step of the podium, in quick succession, of five French road races, a sensational way of establishing herself on the international scene for this 21-year-old who is definitely making the most of her European stage. The Swiss structure in Aigle, the hub that has become a mandatory passage point for African talents (above all Biniam Girmay) projected towards professionalism, was much more than a simple "technical stopover" for Jazilla, even if calendar reasons saw her move from the Swiss region bordering Alta Savoia to Northern France. A country where, at 19, she had the privilege of participating in her first cross-country World Cup, competing in Les Gets among the under-23s.

OLYMPICS IN PARIS AND FRANCE IN HER HEART

Ah, La France! Entered into the heart of the cyclist who approached two wheels practicing mountain bike, up to participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, cross-country specialty. We want to add that the coach of the Rwandan national team is the French David Louvet? The race results speak clearly, because, under the eyes of Wcc director Jacques Laundry, a Canadian now settled in Aigle, Jazilla has beaten Eritrean Efrem Betiel on one occasion, leaving the local riders empty-handed. Races at the highest levels, especially the home World Championship, will soon involve the athlete originally from Rwamagana, a location in eastern Rwanda and projected towards professionalism.

She tells: «I asked my father for a bike like many when I was a child, then I started racing in 2019 as a teenager in the Rwanda Cup, even though the impact was difficult, racing with the elite. A seventh place made me understand that I could make a lot of progress, as my trusted coach Edgar would tell me. At the Race to Remember 2022 I was third, climbing onto the podium for the first time. Then came the call for the Bugesera camp, participation in the Rwandan Epic, and other race satisfactions».

And the World Championship?

«I want to give my best always, maybe finishing in the top twenty. Now I'm taking these four victories in France but above all I see this trip as an opportunity for high-level growth».

BIKES, LOVE FOR READING AND THE WOMEN'S MOVEMENT

The real international springboard were the 2023 African MTB Championships in Johannesburg, won by Umwamikazi, involved in a prolonged European stage in the Olympic year. And convinced that the women's movement in Rwanda can take giant steps. How many Jazillas are around the Country of a Thousand Hills? This doesn't mean diverting attention from what the former biker is individually demonstrating; rather, her rise can be an example for the growing number of cyclists attending the satellite training facility including "the Field of Dreams" (Bugesera), a preparation ring financed by Israel Premier Tech. Jazilla's most proud supporters are the managers of Rwanda Bookmobile Initiative (an NGO animated by the French Shannon Porthault), which brings the passion for reading among children and adolescents, not without a strong connection between the educational program and the bicycle thanks to the ndabagawteam, especially committed to spreading cycling in the female sphere. These are not just marginal notes in the story of a blossoming talent.

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