Team Rwanda Cycling rider Bonaventure Uwizeyimana is set to return to road training after recovering from a career-threatening head injury which he sustained while training in April.

According to head coach Jonathan ‘Jock’ Boyer, Uwizeyimana will resume training with the rest of the team next week. The riders have been given a week to rest after competing in the ‘Race for Culture’ from Nyungwe to Nyanza on Saturday, the fourth event of the Rwanda Cycling Cup.

"Coming back for training, not even talking about racing is a very good thing, because it means he is healing quickly so that is a big deal. Yes he lost three months but he is going to get back to his top shape by November,” said Boyer in an exclusive interview with Times Sport.

The 22-year-old was descending downhill alongside his teammates during a training session on the Gitarama-Musanze road when a pedestrian attempted to cross the road, hesitated and went back to the roadside before deciding to cross the road just as Uwizeyimana was approaching and the latter hit him and fell off the bike, head first on the ground.

Fortunately, his Louis Garneau helmet saved him from sustaining more damaging injuries, but the helmet was crushed. He was rushed to a nearby clinic before he was transferred to Musanze hospital where his arm was stitched and an X-ray taken.

He was later transferred to King Faisal hospital where an MRI confirmed cerebal venous sinus thrombosis - blood clot in his brain. He took anticoagulants and under close observation by the doctor for over a fortnight, he was released in May.

Uwizeyimana has been recovering at the Africa Rising Cycling Centre in Musanze, home to Team Rwanda Cycling and commenced indoor one-hour training daily on a Velo machine in May.

It is hoped that Uwizeyimana’s first competition will be the Tour du Rwanda from November 15-22 and will be part of Team Karisimbi alongside reigning champion Valens Ndayisenga, Janvier Hadi, Jean Bosco Nsengimana and Joseph Biziyaremye.

Last year, Uwizeyimana became the first African to win a stage at the La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in Gabon, a 2.1 event arguably the biggest cycling event on the African continent.

This year, he was the best U-23 rider beating riders from Europe and the entire African continent. Last year, he trained with Vendee-U, the feeder team of Europcar, which is currently competing in the Tour de France.

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