Rwanda Cycling Federation (Ferwacy) president Aimable Bayingana has called a decision by three cycling teams to pull out of the Tour du Rwanda due to Ebola fears as ‘ridiculous and shameful.’

The three teams that opted out are Novo Nordisk development team (USA), Loup Sport (Switzerland) and Scody Downunder (Australia). The weeklong event starts on Sunday.

Bayingana told Times Sports that, "It is very ridiculous that the teams pulled out citing Ebola as an excuse. Rwanda has not recorded any Ebola case.”

"However, this is not an issue because as soon as they pulled out, other teams requested to compete in the tour because they know the significance of the event. In fact, the top UCI teams in Africa will be here, including Algeria, Morocco and South Africa.”

There hasn’t been a confirmed Ebola case in the region and all passengers entering Rwanda are screened.Team Meubles Decarte, from Switzerland, as well as Eritrea’s AS BE CO team and SNH Velo club of Cameroon will replace the trio that pulled out of the tournament that has attracted 15 teams.

Bayingana added that if it was not for financial constraints, up to 20 teams would have participated in this year’s event. Apart from air tickets, Ferwacy takes charge of all teams that participate in the week-long race.

The Tour of Rwanda is one of the most competitive races on the continent and is listed as 2.2 race by the International Cycling Union (UCI).

Teams:

Rwanda Akagera, Rwanda Karisimbi, Rwanda Muhabura, Algeria, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Morocco, South Africa, AS BE CO (Eritrea), SNH Velo club (Cameroon, Bike Aid (Germany), Team Meubles Decarte (Switzerland) and Team Haute Savoie (France).