Tour courts Armstrong

Frw 233m for Tour de Rwanda AFTER being incorporated into the Africa tour of this year’s International Cycling Union (ICU) calendar, the national cycling federation (Ferwacy) will stop at nothing to make the 2009 Tour de Rwanda a memorable success. The event, which is also counts as Rwanda’s premier cycling race, is slated for November 23-December 1. Ferwacy, who have landed huge sponsorship from the government through the ministry of sports and culture (Minispoc), are already thinking big. The federation has contracted GSO, a French company that is already very involved in African cycling. The company will help Ferwacy in staging a world-class event. During yesterday’s press conference at Amahoro Stadium, the federation’s president Aimable Bayingana also revealed that arrangements have been made to attract Lance Armstrong, a seven time Tour de France winner. “We have his contacts and are trying to get in touch with him,” he said. Having Armstrong over would be a huge source of inspiration for local cyclists. On top of attracting the world’s top cycling nations like France, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Greece and USA, the international tour, the first in East Africa is also expected to attract Africa’s top nations like South Africa, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Morocco and Egypt amongst others. This year’s edition, covering a total distance of 1069km is expected to cost over 300,000 euros (approx. Frw 233.3m). On top of Minispoc’s package, Rwanda Development Board under ORTPN, Electrogaz, CNLG, Ocir Café, Western Union and MTN among others are expected to bankroll the event. The Tour will have eight stages. The longest stage will cover 163.5km while the shortest stage will go for 33.8km. Adrien Niyonshuti is the reigning champion. Tour de Rwanda stages: Stage 1 (151.3km) – Kigali –NyagatareStage 2 (156km) – Nyagatare-KigaliStage 3 (33.8km) – KicukiroStage 4 (148.9km) - Kigali- RubavuStage 5 (163.5km) – Rubavu –KigaliStage 6 (124.2km) – Kigali-KibuyeStage 7 (156.8km) - Kibuye – HuyeStage 8 (134.5km) – Huye – Kigali Ends

Lifestyle

Tour courts Armstrong