Team BIKE AID begin season with Tour du Rwanda
On Sunday (23 February 2025), Saarland’s professional Team BIKE AID kicked off their new season with the Tour du Rwanda – the most important cycle race on the African continent. This race has gained huge prestige in recent years and will enjoy even more international media attention in 2025. This is because the Road World Championships are being held in Africa for the first time ever this year (21 to 28 September 2025) – a historic event that well attract the attention of the entire sporting world.
First Road World Championships to be held in Africa
The conflict in Congo is currently featuring heavily in the international press. This has a complex background, ranging from its origins in colonial times through to the current global economy’s appetite for raw materials. This makes it even more remarkable that the Tour du Rwanda stands as a symbol of reconciliation between the Hutu and the Tutsi after the devastating genocide in Rwanda – an identity-forming national event bringing together people of all ethnic groups to celebrate their national team together. It is also important to remember that the World Championships offer Africans a particularly good opportunity to show their enthusiasm for cycling and make their mark on the global stage.
This event is incredibly important to African cyclists, who are all too rarely granted an opportunity to demonstrate their skill and gain attention in professional cycling. Their talent and enthusiasm are undeniable – often, all that is missing is the opportunities and infrastructure they need to develop and grow. The World Championships and the Tour du Rwanda offer such a platform.
Inspiring enthusiasm for cycling through gripping stories for a wide audience
This is where Team BIKE AID comes in. For more than ten years, this Saarland team has been seeking to provide a platform for African athletes and introduce as wide an audience as possible to the diversity and excitement of cycling thanks to gripping reporting. The Tour du Rwanda is the perfect location for this, as it celebrates cycling with a passion and enthusiasm not found anywhere else in the world. With a total of 3.5 million spectators lining the routes of eight stages and celebrating a huge sports festival, it highlights how deeply rooted cycling is in this country.
Strong squad for challenging terrain
On a sporting level, Team BIKE AID is also perfectly prepared for the ‘land of a thousand hills’, which will particularly call for climbing skill in the coming days. Last year, Dawit Yemane was named best African athlete at the Tour du Rwanda, and is once again one of the wider favourites this year. His teammate Oliver Mattheis has also set his sights high and wants to make his mark.
The full Team BIKE AID line up is Dawit Yemane and Yoel Habteab (both Eritrean), Vinzent Dorn and Oliver Mattheis (both German) and Antoine Berlin of Monaco.
This unique blend of German and African riders puts Team BIKE AID at the heart of the action – ready to celebrate sporting successes and delight others with inspiring stories. As well as marking the start of a new season, the Tour du Rwanda is also a symbol of active diversity and shared passion in cycling.