First a visit to the UCI headquarters in Aigle, then transfer to Brittany, following the seventh stage of the Tour de France. These are dense days of meaning that Samson Ndayishimiye, President of the Rwandan Cycling Federation, is experiencing in his "road show". It happens - a happy coincidence - that from the other side of the world, in China, Henok Mulubrhan waves the Eritrean flag at the Tour of Magnificent Qinghai (2.Pro), just while a nice group of young African cyclists, belonging to the World Cycling Center Africa Project, poses for a photo with Biniam Girmay. Looking for the sporting idol of an entire continent on two wheels? Call "Bini", the great champion from Eritrea who started his rise in European and world races right from the Aigle center. In Saint-Malo, the number one of Ferwacy first realizes how the time gap to the world championship in Kigali 2025 has been increasingly narrowing. It seems like yesterday, and yet it was 2021, when the historic assignment took place, as it will be the first world championship in Africa: "a magnificent opportunity for which I will always be grateful to those who chose us, enthusiastic about this Tour experience" - prefaced the former swimmer who was the Rwandan flag bearer at the Sydney Games in 2000.

"Cycling? A popular sport in our country, for many reasons, not least the infrastructural aspect combined with terrains that can satisfy athletes with different characteristics. From the great elevation changes proposed by the world championship to flat roads, all set in the context of tourism growth, also linked to two wheels". (Cycle) tourists who, after a night in Kigali, venture among the mountains and villages of the African Switzerland, getting to know the spectacular thousand hills in the saddle. Ndayishimiye does not limit himself to expanding horizons to attractiveness, which is established for those who do not have a number on their back. This wants to be, indeed already is in all respects, an outpost for the development of cycling activity.

HOW TALENTS ARE BORN

"The first edition of the Junior Tour of Rwanda was set up in 2024 with the aim of valuing talents and preparing them for future cycling careers. An event organized by our federation, set within an ambitious Africa2025 project, aimed at ensuring that Kigali 2025 generates a lasting legacy. We are sure that this will happen". Much, from this point of view, can be done by the Regional Development Center, a satellite structure that arose in February: "It plays a fundamental role in training athletes from various parts of the Continent, as well as professionals, from mechanics to coaches. And I'll give you a preview: we'll have a camp at the end of August at the center, hosting 100 boys and girls from different countries". In Rwanda, the development program in cycling in schools continues, an activity that goes hand in hand with the promotion of youth races". The federal president, not only by statutory role assigned to him, believes in the birth of a cycling ecosystem. The premises, in the face of the enthusiasm recorded roadside during the professional Tour du Rwanda, are all there, looking closely at the affirmation of a paradigm valid for all of Africa and enclosed in a recipe whose main ingredient is the enthusiasm of those who ride a bike: "Children are using bicycles more and more, and the number of people experiencing the benefit of a healthy life is growing. For many it is a means of transportation, but the number of people doing cycling for fun is also increasing". The federal president, addressing other nations, not only hopes for the maximum possible participation in the world championship ("bring your flag, come with your athletes and be part of history"). From September 21st to 28th, how will the Rwandans perform? "Racing at home gives special energy and nothing is possible in sport. Especially junior races are open to prediction. Whatever happens, our boys will be part of a historic moment for cycling".

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