16 Feb 2024

Our first Africa: Tour du Rwanda, high-altitude ambitions

Tour du Rwanda (2.1)

18th - 25th February

Having won a 2.1 category race, Team Polti Kometa is ready to face another one. Whereas the Tour of Antalya was a recurring event for the Italian squad, now it’s time to explore Africa for the first time by participating in the Tour du Rwanda. It’s a captivating scenario, in a continent eager to emerge and a country that will host the first african World Championships next year.

A glimpse into the 2025 World Championships will open and close the eight-day schedule. It starts the day after tomorrow with a TTT in the Rwandan capital of Kigali, mirroring the track of the World Championship team relay, contributing solely to the team classification. The individual rankings will then unfold throughout the entire week, from Monday to Sunday 25th. Not so much from the second stage, with its three climbs towards the end that will challenge either sprinters or attackers, but rather from the third stage, which features 7 categorized climbs in less than 150 kilometers. Even more… condensed is the fourth one, with 5 KOM within fewer than 100 kilometers. The fifth raceday will be an individual time trial: thirteen kilometers with a slight but steady incline. The sixth stage will be the last call for GC: ninety kilometers like two days prior, ending this time with the ascent of Mount Kigali. Similarly, the next day, the finish will be uphill, following the only stage over 150 km, but the course layout favors resilient fast men. The final act is particularly explosive, short but intense: around the Kigali Convention Center unfolds a quadruple city circuit and a lap around the well-known Mount Kigali. A taste of the future Rwandan World Championship road races.

An important detail: the race will constantly take place between 1500 and 2000 meters above sea level, with the Thursday time trial climbing up to 2312 meters! To tackle this challenge, in a context that includes some ProTeams and several Conti devos but no actual WorldTeams, Polti Kometa brings both of its riders accustomed to high altitudes from opposite latitudes: Jhonatan Restrepo, capable of aiming big with his 6 stage wins in Rwanda when he raced for Gianni Savio, and his little bro German Gomez. Alongside this Colombian duo, valuable especially for time trials and mountain stages, there is also a Spanish pair for sprints: Manuel Peñalver, confirming that the Almeria crash luckily had no consequences, and Javier Serrano. Acting as a link between the two pairs is the Italian Andrea Garosio, the only one from this group who was part of the victorious Antalya expedition.

On the cover image, the Colombian duo Restrepo-Gomez; in the gallery here above, Peñalver-Serrano-Garosio

None of these riders are starting their season debut. However, the sports director Biagio Conte is making his 2024 debut. Here’s his deep analysis: “We’re in a nice moment that confirms the excellent work done in winter preparation. We’re heading to Rwanda with a Restrepo who has performed well in his Colombia and a Peñalver who showed a good performance in Almeria, only prevented from a placement by a late crash. The condition is good, and the Tour du Rwanda will be a challenging test, due to the high altitude and the uncertainty, valid for all teams of course, of racing with five riders. The third stage is the most demanding with over 3000 m. elevation gain; the others are more suitable for fast guys like Restrepo, Peñalver, and Serrano. I think the GC could be decided in the ITT. I hope the jet lag doesn’t affect the two Colombians too much; in any case, to acclimatize better, we all arrived in Rwanda yesterday.”

On the athletes’ side, here are Manuel Peñalver‘s statements: “Last Sunday, I only got some scratches and a little scare. Now I’m fully recovered and, indeed, even more eager to show my good condition. My teammates and I are convinced we can make an impact in this race, and we’re focused on achieving the goal.”