MTB cycling 2012 Olympics M cross-country RWA Adrien Niyonshuti

Adrien Niyonshuti (born 2 January 1987) is a

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 ...

n former professional bicycle racer, who rode professionally for from 2009 to 2017. In 2021, he worked as a

directeur sportif A ''directeur sportif'' (, ) is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event. It is seen as the equivalent to a field manager in baseball, or a head coach in football. At professional level, a directeur sportif follows t ...

for

UCI Continental team +Men Teams A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson (academic), Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who a ...

. In 2023, he will be leading the Benin National Cycling team to prepare for the UCI Championships to be held on the continent in 2025. Although he survived, six of Niyonshuti's brothers were killed in the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

of 1994. Nilyonshuti began riding a bicycle given to him by his uncle as a teenager when he came to the attention of former professional cyclist

Jacques Boyer Jonathan Boyer (born October 8, 1955), nicknamed "Jock" and "Jacques", is an American former professional cyclist who, in 1981, became the first American to participate in the Tour de France. In November 2002, Boyer pled guilty to seven counts o ...

in 2006 during the first Wooden Bike Classic.

Career

Born in Rwamagana, Eastern Province,

, Niyonshuti began amateur cycling at the age of sixteen. In 2006, he came to the attention of a former professional cyclist,

. The first

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

cyclist to compete in the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage cycle sport, bicycle race held primarily in France. It is the oldest and most prestigious of the three Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours, which include the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a ...

, Boyer was working in Rwanda on a project to import cargo bicycles for coffee farmers. Boyer also assumed the role of coach for the Rwandan national cycling team and recruited Niyonshuti to race.Delany, Ben (2009)
"Rwandan rider Niyonshuti faces a new future at the Tour of Ireland"
. ''Velonews''. 20 August 2009. Niyonshuti had good initial results in local races such as the

Tour of 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 ...

, in which he finished in the top ten five years in a row and won in 2006 and 2008.The New Times (2008).
"Niyonshuti bags Frw 0.7m"
. Retrieved 22 August 2009. In 2008, Niyonshuti attended the Africa Continental Centre Training Camp in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where he was offered a contract by Douglas Ryder, the

of UCI Continental Team . He started his first UCI European road race in August 2009 with his participation in the

Tour of Ireland The Tour of Ireland ( Irish: Turas na hÉireann, known from 1985 to 1992 as the Nissan Classic) was a bicycle stage race held in August, which ran for 35 editions over a 56-year period. Irish rider Seán Kelly recorded the most wins, four. T ...

, becoming the first Rwandan cyclist to ride in the European professional

peloton In a road Cycle sport, bicycle race, the peloton (, originally meaning ) is the main group or pack of riders. Riders in a group save energy by riding close (drafting (racing), drafting or slipstreaming) to (particularly behind) other riders. The ...

. Niyonshuti qualified to represent Rwanda in the cross-country mountain bike race during the

2012 Summer Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. He was also Rwanda's flagbearer at the opening ceremony. Niyonshuti competed for Rwanda again at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He did not finish the men's road race. He was the flagbearer for Rwanda again during the opening ceremony. In 2017, he was aiming to make his Grand Tour debut.

Post-retirement and coaching activities

After the 2012 London Olympic Games, Niyonshuti immediately felt he wanted to offer the chance for aspiring cyclists in his country to experience the power of cycling, instil hope and pass on its positive values to future generations. The Adrien Niyonshuti Cycling Academy idea was born and the first location chosen was his home town of Rwamagana. Along with support from Team Africa Rising and the Rising from Ashes Foundation, the academy was officially launched in August 2013. The Academy ran successfully until December 31, 2022, producing two professional gravel cyclists signed by Team Amani and Eric Muhoza, who was signed for the 2023 season by Team BikeAid. Eric Muhoza is Niyonshuti's cousin. Niyonshuti closed his Academy at the end of 2022 to focus on his work developing African cyclists in Europe and as a consultant for the National Cycling Team of

Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...

. Niyonshuti worked as the Directeur Sportif for Team Benin A at the 2022 Tour du Benin. On 14 July 2022, Niyonshuti was invited by the Qhubeka Charity to take part in a high-profile promotional event at the

. Qhubeka is the charity of the Tour and had planned an ascent of the iconic

Alpe d'Huez L'Alpe d'Huez () is a ski resort in Southeastern France at . It is a mountain pasture in the central French Western Alps, in the Communes of France, commune of Huez, which is part of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-R ...

on one of their single-speed Qhubeka bicycles. Niyonshuti knows the Qhubeka Charity well, having been part of a large distribution of their bicycles in 2012 and attending several distributions of Qhubeka bicycles to schoolchildren during his time on the MTN-Qhubeka/Dimension Data professional team. Niyonshuti completed the ascent of the Alpe d'Huez in an impressive 1 hour 36 minutes, and members of the international media were waiting for him at the finish line. After interviews with leading TV, radio and print media journalists, several articles have appeared, including Cycling Tips and Outdoor Online.

Major results

;2004 : 6th Overall

;2005 : 7th Overall

;2007 : 4th Overall

;2008 : 1st Jersey yellow

Overall

;2009 : 3rd Overall

: 10th Road race,

African Road Championships The African Continental Cycling Championships are a series of cycling races held annually in Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square& ...

;2010 : 1st Rwandan National Champion Cycling jersey

Road race, National Road Championships :

::4th Time trial ::8th Road race : 8th Overall

;2011 : 1st Rwandan National Champion Cycling jersey

Road race, National Road Championships : 1st Overall Tour de Kigali : 5th Overall Kwita Izina Cycling Tour : 6th Overall

: 9th Road race,

All-Africa Games The African Games, formally known as the All-Africa Games or the Pan African Games, are a continental multi-sport event held every four years, organized by the African Union with the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa and the ...

: 9th Time trial,

;2012 : 1st Rwandan National Champion Cycling jersey

Road race, National Road Championships :

::7th Team time trial ::9th Time trial ::10th Road race : 9th Overall

;2013 : 9th Overall

;2014 : 3rd

Time trial In many racing sports, an sportsperson, athlete (or occasionally a team of athletes) will compete in a time trial (TT) against the clock to secure the fastest time. The format of a time trial can vary, but usually follow a format where each athle ...

, National Road Championships ;2015 : 10th Time trial,

;2016 : National Road Championships ::1st Rwandan National Champion Cycling jersey

::2nd Road race ;2017 : 1st Rwandan National Champion Cycling jersey

, National Road Championships ;2018 : 2nd Silver medal africa

Team time trial,

References

External links

Land of Second Chances: The Impossible Rise of Rwanda's Cycling Team

Ryder Cycling Profile: Adrien Niyonshuti

The Adrien Niyonshuti Cycling Academy

Rising from Ashes (2012) IMDb page
* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Niyonshuti, Adrien 1987 births Living people Rwandan male cyclists Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic cyclists for Rwanda Cyclists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games competitors for Rwanda People from Eastern Province, Rwanda Cyclists at the 2011 All-Africa Games African Games competitors for Rwanda