EDITORIAL: Dialogue and not standoffs will save cycling from future stalemates

When Valens Ndayisenga won last year’s Tour du Rwanda, the national cycling team was hosted to a reception at Serena Hotel, to congratulate them for wining a continental cycling championship held annually in Rwanda. President Paul Kagame was the chief guest and described the triumph of the team as a reflection of the Rwandan spirit; sacrifice teamwork, resilience and discipline. Indeed, this was echoed across the country, the cycling team had become a source of inspiration for sports fanatics who had lost hope in the dismal performance in other sports like soccer. However, fast forward 2015, emerging developments are threatening to undo the achievements in cycling sport. In what perhaps might be the worst incident in the history of cycling, Rwanda Cycling Federation (FERWACY) suspended veteran riders over allegations of inciting teammates to strike ahead of the Tour du Rwanda. Abraham Ruhumuriza, Janvier Hadi and Valens Ndayisenga were suspended on Saturday, and given an ultimatum to apologize in writing for the misconduct. The suspension followed a strike involving 14 national cycling team riders over refusal by FERWACY to pay $3,000 (about Rwf2.2 million) for each rider before competing in the international race starting on November 15. The riders say that they were not given an opportunity to express their concerns over the matter. While details of exactly what happened are yet to be known, the urgent concern now is to first ensure that Rwanda defends the Tour du Rwanda title. It is only through dialogue that an amicable solution would be reached. Counter accusations between FERWACY, and the riders will not solve the problem at hand. Fame and the quest for fortune undermines athletes concentration and distracts their performance. The Sports administrations should not give up on dialogue as a way to keep them focused on the bigger picture. Through continually engaging the athletes, amicable solutions can be found for the good of the sport, the athletes and the country as well. Professional athletes should learn that defiance not only ruins their careers but it also tarnishes the image of the sport, which they are part of as well.

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EDITORIAL: Dialogue and not standoffs will save cycling from future stalemates