The 2021 Tour du Rwanda was a

road cycling Road cycling is the most widespread form of cycling in which cyclists ride on paved roadways. It includes recreational, racing, commuting, and utility cycling. As users of the road, road cyclists are generally expected to obey the same laws a ...

stage race A race stage, leg, or heat is a unit of a racing, race that has been divided in several parts for the reason such as length of the distance to be covered, as in a multi-day race, multi-day event. Usually, such a race consists of "ordinary" stages ...

that took place in

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

between 2 and 9 May 2021. The race was rated as a category

2.1 The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world's governing body in the sport of bicycle racing, classifies races according to a rating scale. The rating is represented by a code made of two or three parts and indicates both the type or style ...

event on the

2021 UCI Africa Tour The 2021 UCI Africa Tour was the 17th season of the UCI Africa Tour. The season began on 21 February 2021 with the Tour du Rwanda and ended on 10 October 2021 with the final stage of the Grand Prix Chantal Biya. The points leader, based on the cum ...

calendar, and was the 24th edition of the

Tour du Rwanda The Tour du Rwanda is a cycling race started in 1988 and based in Rwanda. Until 2008, TOUR DU RWANDA was a regional cycling race that brought together Rwandans but also riders from neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda. The race is a cycling stag ...

. The race was originally scheduled to be held from 21 to 28 February, but due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, it had to be postponed and rescheduled to early May.

Teams

One

UCI WorldTeam A UCI WorldTeam (2015–present), previously UCI ProTeam (2005–2014), is the term used by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to name a cycling team of the highest category in professional road bicycle racing, road cycling, the UCI World Tou ...

, three

UCI ProTeam UCI most commonly refers to: * University of California, Irvine, a public university in Irvine, California, United States * Union Cycliste Internationale, the world governing body for the sport of cycling UCI may also refer to: * Uganda Cancer In ...

s, eight

UCI Continental The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) to expand cycling around the world. The five circuits (representing the continents of Africa, the ...

teams, and four national teams made up the 16 teams that participated in the race. Each team competed with five riders, for a total of 75 riders, of which 61 finished. UCI WorldTeams * UCI ProTeams * * * UCI Continental Teams * * * * * * * * National Teams *

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Route

The complete route of the 2021 Tour du Rwanda was revealed on 29 November 2020. The eight-day stage race covered and over of elevation, with 29 categorized climbs and many stages ending with a summit finish. Like in previous editions, the Rwandan capital,

Kigali Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali is a relativ ...

, featured heavily in the race, being a start and/or finish location on all but one of the eight stages. The Mur de Kigali time trial on stage 7, which often draws out large crowds along its infamous cobbled sector, continued to make its appearance in the race.

Stages

Stage 1

;2 May 2021 —

(

Kigali Arena BK Arena (formerly known as Kigali Arena) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Kigali, Rwanda, used mostly for basketball and volleyball matches. Built and finished in 2019, it hosts sporting events and concerts. It is the biggest indoor arena in Ea ...

) to

Rwamagana Rwamagana is a city and capital of both the Rwamagana District and the Eastern Province in Rwanda Description Rwamagana lies approximately from Kigali, on the newly renovated road leading east towards Tanzania. There was formerly a large amo ...

Stage 2

;3 May 2021 — Kigali (MIC Building) to Huye,

Stage 3

;4 May 2021 — Nyanza to Gicumbi,

Stage 4

;5 May 2021 — Kigali (Kimironko) to

Musanze Musanze is a sector, located in the district of the same name, in Northern Province, Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region ...

Stage 5

;6 May 2021 —

Nyagatare Nyagatare is a town in the North East of Rwanda. With a population of more than 100,000, it is one of the most populous settlements in the Eastern Province along with Rwamagana and Kibungo. Location Nyagatare is located in Nyagatare District, E ...

to Kigali (Kimironko),

Stage 6

;7 May 2021 — Kigali (Rond Point KBC) to Kigali ( Mont Kigali),

Stage 7

;8 May 2021 — Kigali (

Nyamirambo Nyamirambo is a Sectors of Rwanda, sector (umurenge) in Districts of Rwanda, Nyarugenge District, Kigali Province, Rwanda, Kigali Province, Rwanda. Location It is located in the southwest part of the city of Kigali. The coordinates of Nyamirambo ...

) to Kigali (Mur de Kigali), (

ITT ITT may refer to: Communication *Tank phone, Infantry-Tank Telephone, a device allowing infantrymen to speak to the occupants of armoured vehicles. Mathematics *Intuitionistic type theory, other name of Martin-Löf Type Theory *Intensional typ ...

)

Stage 8

;9 May 2021 — Kigali (Canal Olympia) to Kigali (Canal Olympia),

Classification leadership table

* On stage 3, Valentin Ferron, who was third in the young rider classification, wore the light blue jersey, because first placed Santiago Umba wore the yellow jersey as the leader of the general classification, and second placed Salim Kipkemboi wore the green jersey as the leader of the African rider classification. * On stage 4,

Bernardo Suaza Bernardo Albeiro Suaza Arango (born 28 November 1992 in Retiro, Antioquia) is a Colombian cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . He was named in the startlist for the 2017 Vuelta a España. Major results ;2014 : 1st 20px Overa ...

, who was second in the sprints classification, wore the dark blue jersey, because first placed Lennert Teugels wore the orange jersey as the leader of the mountains classification. For the same reason, Tomas Goytom wore the dark blue jersey on stages 5, 7, and 8, while Andreas Goeman wore the dark blue jersey on stage 6. * On stage 6,

Kent Main Kent Warwick Main (born 8 January 1996) is a South African cyclist, who currently rides for UCI Continental team . Major results ;2014 : 3rd Road race, National Junior Road Championships ;2017 : 1st Overall Tour of Good Hope ::1st Stage 3 ;201 ...

, who was third in the African rider classification, wore the green jersey, because first placed Metkel Eyob wore the yellow jersey as the leader of the general classification, and second placed Nahom Zerai wore the light blue jersey as the leader of the young rider classification.

Final classification standings

General classification

Mountains classification

African rider classification

Rwandan rider classification

Young rider classification

Sprints classification

Team classification

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tour du Rwanda, 2021

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...