Tour du Rwanda to go ahead without route alterations despite ongoing conflict in DRC
'Teams and supporters can be assured of a safe and enjoyable event' say race organisers
It has been confirmed that the upcoming Tour du Rwanda will go ahead without any changes to the course, despite a stage finish less than 15 kilometres away from the city of Goma, where almost 800 people died as rebels took control from the Congelese government last week.
An additional 2800 people were injured and many more displaced from the city of more than 2 million people, creating what the U.N. called a ‘dire humanitarian situation’.
The race will begin on the 23rd of February. Stage four of the Tour du Rwanda is set to finish in Rubavu, less than 15 kilometres away from Goma. The race will then stay in the city overnight before stage five begins from the same location. Five Rwandan civilians were killed in Rubavu due to fighting between Rwandan and Congolese military in the last two weeks.
“The ongoing situation in Eastern DRC is a conflict between the DRC Government and a Congolese armed group,” said a statement by the Tour du Rwanda race organisers.
The U.N. and many western nations accuse Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels, who have been active in Eastern DRC for the best part of two decades. Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda, has always denied this.
“There has only been one occasion recently when this fighting has briefly directly affected those living on the Rwandan side of the border,” the statement continued. “All measures have been taken to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.”
“Life in Rubavu and all across Rwanda continues as normal. Therefore, the Tour du Rwanda can proceed without any alteration to the schedule and riders, teams and supporters can be assured of a safe and enjoyable event.”
The conflict in DRC continues, with President Félix Tshisekedi vowing to retaliate with force and reclaim the city of Goma. This has led some to question whether there may be a wider war to come in DR Congo and even across East Africa.
A ceasefire that was declared this week appears to have been broken by the M23 rebels as they took another town in Eastern DRC, south of Goma, as they head towards another major city, Bukavu.
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From contact with teams, Global Peloton understands that those scheduled to compete in the Tour du Rwanda are waiting on the advice of the UCI and organisers as to whether the race is safe enough to compete in. No team has pulled out of the race at this point. Although this statement will aim to reassure safety concerns, teams are expected to wait until the final days before the race to make final decisions on their participation.
On Tuesday afternoon, Israel-Premier Tech - who won the 2024 edition of the Tour du Rwanda through Joseph Blackmore - affirmed their participation in the race by releasing a statement to Global Peloton which said:
“Israel – Premier Tech remains committed to racing the Tour du Rwanda, commencing the end of February. The team is in contact with race organizers and relevant parties to ensure the safety of the race and has full confidence in race organizers to make any necessary decisions regarding the race route.”
Soudal-QuickStep’s development team is scheduled to compete at the race, but Sport Director Kevin Hulsmans has concerns over his team attending.
"I've done the Tour of Rwanda twice in the past as a sports director. Beautiful race, fun to ride, nice field of participants. Normally at least. Because now I'm quite worried," he said to Het Nieuwsblad .
"I looked at the schedule of stages and stages three and four will arrive within a stone's throw of where the rebels are. It's maybe fifty kilometres less. Including an overnight stay in that region. I have some doubts about that."
The team’s new CEO Julien Foré added: “They guarantee our safety, they say. But what does that mean? Even if there is only a small chance that something will happen, even that is too much. I am willing to believe that there is nothing going on in the interior of Rwanda and that everything is calm and safe. But we would at least have liked them to stay further away from the region in question. And that is not the intention at the moment. That is a cause for concern.”
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