The national cycling team, popularly known as Team Rwanda, earlier this month competed at the 15th African Continental Road Championships in Cairo, Egypt.

The team comprised six elite riders and four juniors in the men’s category, and four women cyclists. The race attracted some of the biggest teams on the continent such as South Africa.

Among the female riders that represented Rwanda in the continental showpiece is Jacqueline Tuyishime, a 22-year-old who rides for local champions Ignite Energy Benediction Club.

She bagged three medals in Egypt, including two silver medals and one bronze.

Early days of her career

Born and raised in Mukamira, in Nyabihu District of the Western Province, Tuyishime says she enjoyed riding bicycles just for fun since she was young, and sometimes she would use it for running errands whenever she was sent by her parents, which she loved doing.

"Because I grew up seeing other people, including children, riding bicycles, it helped me love it and liked the experience after trying it out myself. This is how I started developing my passion in this area,” she says.

As early as in grade two, Tuyishime had already learned to ride a bicycle. But, she would do it as an amateur until 2015 when she met late Agnes Mukabutera, the mother of Samuel Mugisha – the 2018 Tour du Rwanda, and one of Rwanda’s best riders today.

It was Mukamubera who introduced her, along with other young girls, to former Team Rwanda Jonathan Boyer, and that marked a new beginning for Tuyishime, who, not long after, joined Benediction Club and the women’s national cycling team.

"After being taken in, we were later trained for a period of one week. We were given our own bicycles to help us in doing more practice. At this time, I started taking cycling as something I could do professionally,” she recalls.

Jacqueline Tuyishime, 22, has represented Rwanda twice in African Continental Road Championships and won medals in both (2019, 2021) editions. / Photo: File

With time, Tuyishime committed more time to improve her game and taking part in national competitions.

Speaking to Weekend Sport on Wednesday, Tuyishime said that she dropped out of school in 2015, when she was in senior one, to pursuit a cycling career. Without regretting her decision, she says she considers going back to school.

"School and cycling are important, and doing both would help me achieve a lot in life.”

Notable milestones

Tuyishime features for Ignite Benediction, arguably the biggest franchise in domestic cycling.

Among her memorable victories, Tuyishime won the 2018 Rwanda Cycling Cup and, and the national championship. The following year, she was a medalist in the Africa continental road championship that took place in Ethiopia.

The African championships, in Ethiopia, was her debut on continental scene.

What next?

The Rwanda international has insisted that she will never rest on her laurels. Tuyishime has vowed to continue working hard so she can establish herself as the best woman rider in Rwanda and one of the best on the continent.

She also aspires to inspire young girls with the same passion and help them realise their potential.