Rwamagana, in the eastern provinces: here after 173.6 km without significant climbs (time bonuses introduced this year) the first leader's jersey of the 2026 Tour du Rwanda will be awarded. The eve of the race is filled with references to last September's World Championships, including the presentation of teams competing at the KKC, acronym for Kigali Convention Center, where the finish line of the world championship race was scheduled.

Moreover, even from the organizational details one can sense the expansive phase of the event, with the ceremonial preliminaries taking place inside the Soumahoro Stadium. Of the seven stages from Sunday the 22nd to Sunday March 1st, the listing of start and finish locations may seem didactic but cannot overlook the landscape highlights. And not only that, because on the penultimate day the finish will be less than three kilometers from the conclusion at Pelé Stadium, an arrival point that feels ancient, the cobblestone wall that has become emblematic of Pogacar's epic, the Mur de Kigali.

The grand finale will return to the Convention Center, a futuristic showcase of a country that combines modernity and tradition. Before taking the stage in front of the crowd for the presentation (a true happening with musical stars as backdrop), and after the team photos, the temperature of ambitions is high among the main protagonists expected. The cyclists' meeting with the press also reflects the mix that brings together important development teams, three African national teams to which is added the African Confederation team, Rwandan clubs and new entries for the Tour du Rwanda, its eighteenth edition, among these the Brazilian mixed team fielding former mountain bike star Avancini. For Eritrea, the spotlight is logically on Henok Mulubrhan, the reliable Astana rider who has already won the 2023 edition here, missing out on the repeat only due to the cancellation of the final stage in 2025. For stage wins and general classification, they have everything to play their cards, remaining among the Eritreans, that Nahom Zeray whose talent has not escaped Ukyo. At 23 years old, if he were hiding, for him the time has come to use this as a springboard toward the World Tour. If the nation leading the continental field also fields the experienced African champion Kudus Merhawi (Burgos BH Burpellet), generational renewal can also be seen in the ranks of the Turkish Istanbul Team, where bib number 35 belongs to Mewael Girmay, brother of Biniam.

"Do I feel a desire for revenge after last year's disappointment? I prefer to talk about the desire to do well, starting perhaps with tomorrow's stage along a route suited to my characteristics". Henok doesn't hide it, and with him his compatriot wearing the African champion's jersey, Merhawi ("we Eritreans are competitive and motivated"). The Rwandan week calls upon talents of whom much is spoken, such as Mexican Said Cisneros (Soudal Quickstep Development like Brazilian Bravo), while NSN relies on Israeli Einhorn (two-time stage winner in 2024), Spaniard Martí Pau, with a close eye on what the various development teams Picnic Post NL, Movistar Team Academy (here Filip Novak, 18-year-old Czech but of Bergamo extraction: "after the World Championships I'm experiencing the cycling passion of this country again and I'm settling in well in my new reality"), Lotto Group Wanty will be able to offer. Italian representation guaranteed by Andrea De Mei, colors of the local May Stars, where Alessio Gasparini already raced. For these "adventurers" too there is room in equatorial cycling, oriented—as one might say—to strengthen itself through a competitive scenario of the caliber of Tour du Rwanda. A challenge in singular combat that is about to begin.