Rwanda as a cycling nation is indeed a scenic spectacle

Sports events always easily bring people together where many social activities struggle to for the same attention. The global sports industry is now undoubtedly one of the biggest money machines. There is too much money in sports that even countries that formerly espoused communist ideals like China are now investing a lot in the same so as to reap the associated benefits. A lot of the money that comes into sports is channelled through advertising, especially TV rights, because advertisers are always looking for where the eyes are so as to place their ads and influence spending choices. At the individual level, success in sports brings immense riches and glory. At the country level besides pride, the same money that flows in the sport can be taxed to fund development. In the East African region, the Kenyans have enjoyed way more sports glory thanks to their prowess when it comes to long distance running. They have also registered some success in the fields of Rugby and Cricket. Uganda can point to football as its game but only if CECAFA competitions were to be viewed as very important. I don’t know much about Burundi besides its modest athletics success at the Olympics and the same applies to Tanzania. When it comes to Rwanda, cycling seems to be the sport that brings joy to the country. Football does too but of late not much great news has been drawn from the pitch. Enter cycling and the now famous Tour du Rwanda cycling race that attracts cyclists from all over the world ready to take their two-wheelers around the multitude of hills that is Rwanda. I have been following the race not because I want anyone in particular to win (I can barely make out who is cycling for which team) but because I love the stunning photography that comes with this race each year. With the cyclists traversing the whole country for a week, you can be sure to see amazing photos that bring out the beauty of the country. I had actually never thought about this angle in sports as a tourism exhibition platform until recently when I was watching the marathon at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games. As the marathoners went about the race, the folks behind the cameras were also capturing and showing off what a great city Rio de Janeiro really is. They made sure we got to different views of the ocean front, as well as the city’s monuments. In other words, the race track was intentionally designed to show off the best of the Rio. The same can be said about the Tour du Rwanda route and the photos from the race are the best definition of the phrase #Remarkable Rwanda that has been adopted to market the country as a tourist destination. In particular the photo by Plaisir Muzogeye taken during the Karongi-Rusizi stage showing the cyclists negotiating a very sharp bend and taken from above, was nothing but breathtaking. Given the beauty of Karongi which in my opinion is the most beautiful part of this country, the photos seem effortlessly stunning. More importantly their depict nature and life in a much better way than most of the Kigali photographs that I see online which – as I recently pointed out to the mayor of the city – look dull when no human beings are in the picture frame. The Kigali pictures tend to focus a lot on the city infrastructure and new buildings but with hardly any people in sight. The cycling photos are to me more heart-warming not only because of the cyclists but more importantly when they also capture the multitudes of people who line the roads to cheer on the riders of their choice sometimes braving the November rains while at it. These fans really bring out the spirit of the Rwandan sports fan and I appreciate the photographers that go to great lengths to get those amazing shots. Some have to climb up hills and wait for that moment when the cyclists speed by to quickly take enough good shots for the world to see. Others have to sit on motorcycles struggling to remain stable as they shoot away. A picture is more than 1000 words and the pictures from Tour du Rwanda easily show off the best of Rwanda. May the best cyclist win the race, but yours truly will be enjoying what the camera lenses have captured along the way.

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Rwanda as a cycling nation is indeed a scenic spectacle