Team Rwanda head coach Felix Sempoma on Monday, December 12, summoned a list of 16 riders that joined the training camp for the forthcoming major tournaments La Tropicale Amissa Bongo slated for January 23-29 in Gabon and Tour du Rwanda due from February 19-26, 2023.
The team starts their training camp December 23.
Team Rwanda, is among 15 teams across Africa that will take part at the forthcoming 16th edition of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo 2022 race which will be decisive on who will make it to the team’s final roster for the highly-anticipated Tour du Rwanda 2023.
For Rwandan athletes, La Tropicale is a good opportunity to prepare for the Tour du Rwanda that will be held on February 19-26, 2023. Team Rwanda is one of the 20 teams that will participate in this cycling race around the country.
Rwanda is among the 10 countries that that will be represented during the Gabonese cycling race along with Benin, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Eritrea, Côte d'Ivoire, Morocco, Mauritius and Gabon.
Joseph Areruya, in 2018, became the only Rwandan in history to win La Tropicale Amissa Bongo, which was at the time the biggest cycling race on the UCI-Africa Tour.
Sempoma will rely much on young riders aged below 23 years of age as part of the country’s early preparations for a team that will be ready to challenge for medals at the UCI 2025 Road World Championship that will take place in Rwanda.
Squad list
Moise Mugisha, Eric Manizabayo, Patrick Bukusenge, Renus Uhiriwe Byiza, Suayibu Kajyibwami, Jeremie Ngendahayo, Masengesho, Eric Nkundabera, Jean Eric Habimana, Emmanuel Iradukunda, Uwiduhaye, Eric Muhoza, Joseph Areruya, Ramadhan Niringiyimana, Samuel Niyonkuru, Etienne Tuyizere.