When you hear the names Rwanda and Kigali, you think of only one thing: genocide.
The Rwandan genocide occurred from April 7 to July 19, 1994, during the Rwandan Civil War.
Over one million people were killed.
The genocide was marked by extreme violence, with victims often slaughtered by neighbours.
But how do you bring cycling and Rwanda together?
The world cycling championships have just been held in Kigali.
The first for Africa and by all indications one of the best ever.
What’s more, two Middelburgers were spectators and a Nelspruit resident, Megan Botha, participated.
Lionel Pienaar and Andries Pretorius started planning to attend the championship more than a year ago, but only two weeks ago, at the last minute, decided they wouldn’t miss it for anything.
They flew at 03:00 last Friday morning and returned on Monday.
Lionel says of the organisation that has received so much praise, “Africa has made a name for itself all over the world. In the three days we were there, I didn’t see a single piece of paper lying around. It’s so safe that you can walk around alone at any time. I went jogging in the mornings, and everywhere in the streets, people were busy sweeping up leaves. Everywhere you look, new hotels are going up. In some parts, it felt like we were in Dubai.”
The two Middelburgers were privileged to stay in a hotel with the American, Australian and Belgian cycling teams.
@middelburgobserver Spectators of a country who turned from genocide to world cycling. LionelPienaar, TadeyPogačar, Rwandangenocide, WorldCycling
“We had breakfast with them every morning. For us who have a love for the sport and know the men, it was an incredible experience.”
Was it really as difficult a route as commentators said? “They reckon it’s the toughest ever. Of the 150 who started the road race, only 30 finished. The road race was 270km with 6 000m of elevation.”
Two of the big names in cycling right now are Belgian Remco Evenepoel and Slovenia’s Tadej Pogačar or ‘Pogi’, who are Lionel’s two favourite cyclists. He has seen both in action, with Remco winning the time trial for the third year in a row and Pogi being the road race king.
Because Rwanda is known for the genocide, the question is, of course, whether they have seen any signs of the remains, such as memorials or museums.
“There is a museum, but because of the time, we were not there. There is a lot of security all over the city. As far as we walked, there was a guard every 100m. With all the thousands of people, I have not seen one incident where people were not behaving.”
About their experience of Rwanda, Lionel said, “I’ve been to many places in the world, but never a place I would rather stay than South Africa. Rwanda gave me hope. Everything worked. It was sparkling clean and incredibly safe. We rode around on the back of motorbikes every day, which was an adventure in itself. The spirit was incredible. On Saturday, we sat at the Dutch fan park. Everyone was in orange. It was an incredible feeling to see all your heroes in action. And you can’t really imagine that it’s humanly possible to ride that route on a bike. The world has now seen Africa. We probably would never have experienced Rwanda if it weren’t for cycling. We just have a new desire to get on the bike again.”
Take note, Minister Gayton McKenzie.
Lionel Pienaar at the nameplate of the Belgian team. Photo: Supplied.
