The Rwanda Cycling Federation or FERWACY (in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Fédération Rwandaise de Cyclisme'') is the national

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

cycle racing Cycle, cycles, or cyclic may refer to: Anthropology and social sciences * Cyclic history, a theory of history * Cyclical theory, a theory of American political history associated with Arthur Schlesinger, Sr. * Social cycle, various cycles in s ...

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 ...

. FERWACY is a member of the African Cycling Confederation and the

Union Cycliste Internationale The Union Cycliste Internationale (; UCI; ) is the world governing body for sports cycling and oversees international competitive cycling events. The UCI is based in Aigle, Switzerland. The UCI issues racing licenses to riders and enforces di ...

Leadership

The current FERWACY president is Abdallah Murenzi, formerly a mayor of the

Nyanza District Nyanza is a district (''akarere'') in Southern Province, Republic of Rwanda. Its capital is Nyanza town, which is also the provincial capital. ''Nyanza'' is a Bantu word meaning ''lake'', which probably refers to the small body of water created ...

, who was elected on 22 December 2019. Murenzi replaced

Aimable Bayingana Aimable Bayingana (born July 14, 1970) is a Rwandan sports executive. Bayingana served as the president of Rwanda Cycling Federation (FERWACY) between 2007 and 2019. From October 2018 to December 2019, he chaired as the President of Union Franco ...

, who resigned earlier that month due to allegations of corruption and sexual abuse, and will serve out the remaining two years of Bayingana's term before being able to seek reelection for a full four-year term.

Organization

The FERWACY management committee consists of the president, two vice-presidents, a general secretary, a treasurer and three advisors, all of which are elected positions. * President: Abdallah Murenzi * First Vice-president: Marie Agnes Mukazibera * Second Vice-president: Alphonse Nkuranga * General Secretary: Jean Leonard Sekanyange * Treasurer: Assia Ingabire * Advisors: Irenee Bayisabe, Rabin Hamim Karambizi, Geoffrey Karama * Technical Director: Emmanuel Murenzi

Events and Programs

Professional

As the national governing body of cycling in Rwanda, the Rwanda Cycling Federation is in charge of hosting and organizing many professional cycling events around the country, with the biggest annual event being 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 ...

, which is 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 usually takes place in late February and draws out large crowds. It was first held in 1988, but it only became a professional event in 2009 when it was added to the

UCI Africa Tour 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 ...

calendar 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. The Rwanda Cycling Federation has also hosted and organized the African Continental Road Cycling Championships in 2010 and 2018, as well as the African Continental Mountain Bike Championships in 2015. In July 2018,

UCI 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 ...

president

David Lappartient David Lappartient (born 31 May 1973) is a French politician, sporting administrator and the president of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), having been elected to the post in September 2017 at the 2017 UCI Road World Championships. In Ju ...

, keen to grow the popularity of the sport of cycling in Africa, invited all 50 national federations that form the African Cycling Confederation to make bids to host the 2025

UCI Road World Championships The UCI Road World Championships are the annual world championships for bicycle road racing organized by the (UCI). The UCI Road World Championships consist of events for road race and individual time trial, and , a UCI Road World Championships ...

. In September 2019, Rwanda and FERWACY submitted their official bid to host the event in

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 ...

, the capital and largest city. This bid was inspected by the UCI in May 2021 to determine if all the necessary requirements are met. At the

2021 UCI Road World Championships The 2021 UCI Road World Championships was the 94th edition of the UCI Road World Championships, the annual world championships for road bicycle racing. It was held between 19 and 26 September 2021 in the Flanders region of Belgium. The region w ...

in late September, Rwanda was announced as the winning bid over

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, the only other major bid; as a result, Rwanda will become the first African country to host the championships. The Rwanda Cycling Federation also manages the Rwandan national cycling team, which has often been invited to participate in

events like the Tour du Rwanda and

La Tropicale Amissa Bongo La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is a road cycling race held in Gabon, as a 2.1 category event on the UCI Africa Tour The UCI Continental Circuits are a series of road bicycle racing competitions which were introduced in 2005 by the Union Cycliste Inter ...

, through the Africa Rising Cycling Center, which breeds both local talent and helps develop talent in other African countries.

Amateur and Local

To help promote and encourage cycling in Rwanda, where cycling has experienced a notable growth in recent times, the Rwanda Cycling Federation also hosts and organizes many amateur races and events. One notable event is the Rwanda Cycling Cup, a series of races that also includes the Rwandan National Road Race and Time Trial Championships, which are both open to professionals and amateurs. There has also been major investment into the cycling tourism industry. Ride Rwanda, the biggest of these touring events, is an annual multi-day bike touring event open to the public that is held at the same time as the Tour du Rwanda. It allows participants to ride on some of the same roads and climbs used in that year's Tour du Rwanda just hours before the professional race. As part of the Kigali City Master Plan 2050 and revised District Development Strategies, the Rwanda Cycling Federation, in conjunction with the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

and other national government organizations, have launched several initiatives to promote cycling commuterism in order to reduce emissions, increase sustainability, and ensure a cleaner environment. These measures include the construction and improvement of pedestrian footpaths and bike paths, the launch of GuraRide, a public bike-sharing program, and the UN Environment Programme's ''Share the Road'' Initiative in partnership with the

Global Green Growth Institute The Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) is an intergovernmental organization based in Seoul, South Korea. It is dedicated to promoting green growth, which integrates economic progress with environmental sustainability. It provides technical s ...

References

External links

*
Tour du Rwanda

Ride Rwanda
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rwanda Cycling Federation National members of the African Cycling Confederation Cycle racing in Rwanda

Cycling Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

Organizations with year of establishment missing