Reigning Tour du Rwanda champion Valens Ndayisenga is eyeing an improvement on his downhill (descending) skills during his two-month training session at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Switzerland.

The 21-year-old, who leaves Kigali this evening for the high performance training centre, revealed that he is looking forward to perfecting his descending skills, an aspect of the sport he will polish in no better environment than in the Alps under the very intelligent WCC coach John-Jacques Henry.

He said, "It is always an honour to be selected for this programme because I get to improve on my cycling knowledge. My target is to get better at going downhill. This used to be an issue last year, but when I attended my first training in Aigle, I improved tremendously and this helped me to win the Tour du Rwanda.”

The Rwamagana native earned this trip following his achievement as the first Rwandan rider to win the Tour du Rwanda since its integration in the UCI Africa Tour calendar in 2009 as well as his silver medal in the men’s individual time trial in the U-23 category at the Africa continental cycling championships in Potchefstroom, South Africa.

Ndayisenga is expected to return to Rwanda in time for the National Cycling Championships in June eager to defend his title.

Meanwhile, Rwanda’s top female cyclist Jeanne d’Arc Girubuntu will join Ndayisenga in Aigle for a three-month training session from April-June, becoming the first Rwandan female to head to the prestigious centre.

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