Dreaming of the Tour de France in the Land of a Thousand Hills

Jean-Eric grew up in a small village called Karago, in the mountainous northern part of Rwanda, not far from the Congolese border. Together with his parents, brothers and sisters, he lives in a small clay house, on top of a mountain overlooking a beautiful lake and green fields full of maize, beans and potatoes. Early in the morning, he washes himself outside his house.

"When I was a young boy, I loved watching cyclists. It felt like I was on the road with them", Jean-Eric says. He convinced his parents to buy an ordinary bike, so he could help them to bring the chicken to the market. "I finally succeeded and they bought a bike." From that moment onwards, Jean-Eric transported the chicken in the morning and rode the bike for hours and hours after school.

His training paid off. Last year he won a local championship for amateur riders with normal bikes and he was recruited into a real club. "They gave me my first road bike. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes; I had never even touched a road bike before!" Jean-Eric is now part of Fly Team and just made it into the junior selection of Team Rwanda.

After breakfast, Jean-Eric leaves his house for his training session. Every time he carefully cycles down the sandy wobbly path from his house towards the main tarmac road, villagers stop to look at him in his fancy clothes with his shiny bike. Children follow him and cheer. Here, in northern Rwanda, he already is a star.

Jean-Eric carries his bike the last steep bit to his house, with the magnificent Lake Karago in the background. Rwanda, also known as 'the Land of a Thousand Hills', is a great country of cycling. Cycling is also part of our culture and many Rwandans, especially in the countryside, use bikes to bring their produce to the market.

A few times a month, Jean-Eric goes to a training camp at the ARCC, in the shadow of the magnificent Virunga volcanoes. On the big terrain are houses for the riders, a canteen, a kitchen, test room and a fully equipped bike workshop ("The best in Africa"). Former American cyclist Jock Boyer set up the centre ten years ago and a lot has improved since then in terms of cycling in Rwanda.

At the ARCC, the boys follow a strict training schedule. After breakfast, they go for a 4 to 5-hour long ride. Once they are come back, they take a hot shower, have lunch and rest. They finish their physically tough day with a yoga lesson in the evening. All these efforts contribute to achieving that one collective goal: riding the Tour de France

Many people still think of Rwanda as 'the country of the genocide' but the popularity of cycling is changing that image, says assistant coach Nathan Byukusenge: "Our riders now travel and win medals. They are wearing our flag and team jersey. They make the country proud and it changes Rwanda’s dark image." Jean-Eric thinks being part of a team also helps.