The week-long stage race in the ‘land of a thousand hills’ will showcase Africa’s best upcoming talent, five months on from the first UCI Road World Championships held on the continent.
Tour du Rwanda
Launched as a UCI race in 2009, but with its roots back in the 1980s, the Tour du Rwanda has been Africa’s premier men’s race for the best part of a decade. The 2026 edition will have particular significance, as it will be the peloton’s first visit to East Africa since the Kigali World Championships, the first such event to be held on the continent. It will be the first sign of what sort of legacy that landmark event may carry.
The Tour du Rwanda – held February 22-March 1 – is vital to the future of the development of the sport in Africa. The UCI 2.1-rated race is the only opportunity all year that many young African riders have to race against and compare themselves to their peers from the European peloton. It’s also a showcase of the vast ocean of talent which exists on the continent, and some of the very best of those young riders will be on display in Rwanda over the next week.
For many fans of cycling, the Tour du Rwanda isn’t much more than a footnote in the week that precedes the traditional beginning of the European cycling season at Omloop Nieuwsblad, set for February 28. However, Africa’s biggest race is an illustration of cycling’s potential as a more global sport and is playing a part in shaping that future. For that reason, it’s a race worth following.
No Mount Kigali, but plenty of Rwanda’s ‘thousand hills’ on the route
The race begins on Sunday with a relatively straightforward 173 km stage beginning in Rukomo, the first of eight stages. The entire race takes place over just a shade below 1000 km with a total 16,174 metres of elevation gain, rarely dipping below 1,500 metres of altitude. All impressive numbers, but the 2026 edition of the Tour du Rwanda may not be the hardest edition in the race’s history.
This post is for paying subscribers only
Subscribe now
Already have an account? Sign in
Did we do a good job with this story?
👍Yep
👎Nope