Canada’s LowestRates cycling team are in a buoyant mood ahead of their maiden appearance in the annual Tour du Rwanda competition, scheduled for November 13-20. 

The Canadian side has made it clear they are here to compete for glory.

They became the first foreign team to arrive in the country, having arrived on Sunday afternoon.

In an exclusive interview with Times Sport on Monday, team manager Frederick Gates revealed that his team has come to Rwanda to enjoy the competition. 

"We don’t know what to expect because it will be our first time racing in Africa but we come here for experience and also to try to make it among the best cyclists in the race, we are very excited to take part in such an amazing competition, we notice there is passion and excitement on the part of the spectators and hope we can finish in the top 10 positions,” said Gates. 

The team is comprised of five riders; namely, Brett Wachtendorf (climber), Stephen Keeping (sprinter/all-rounder), Timothy Rugg (all-rounder), Cameron McPhaden (puncher), and Edward Greene (climber/time trialist). Their staff includes Ben Andrew, Tyler D’Arcy, and Rachel Pageau. 

"With many of the stages in hilly areas, we are pretty happy with the riders that we came with here, we have some climbers that went for training in the Alps and Colorado to get ready for altitudes and climbing, we have a good mix of riders and I think we shall be ready to face those big hills and stages,” he observed. 

Gates further pointed out that, "We have come here not only to race but also to get involved with the cycling community in one way or another, we have organised a donation that comprises cycling equipment and we want to thank the local cycling federation for having invited us to take part in this competition.”

The team’s top climber Brett Wachtendorf said in a separate interview: "It is really hard to put our target into perspective because we don’t really know our competitors, you know it is a big race but we want to push into the top 10.” 

The annual event will attract a total of 85 riders under 17 teams. Since 2009 when Tour du Rwanda became part of the UCI Africa Tour, a total of 330 riders representing 37 countries and five continents have participated in the annual event.

editorial@newtimes.co.rw