Rider interviews - Men - RAR2022

Rider interviews - Women - RAR2022

What's on the race menu

Day 1 race report - RAR2022

Under the Waning Gibbous - overnight Day 1

Africa Rising

Mud! Day 2

Day 2 - overnight leaders report

Day 2 - overnight report for non-top-3 

Let's talk tyres

Welcome to the coverage of the 2022 Race Around Rwanda. A country with a diverse landscape and a matching diversity in riders too. The races draws in many local riders who are not new to cycling, but are new to the sport of bikepacking. Cycling forms a key part of transport in Rwanda, but racing bikes is woven into the fabric of the country with the Tour of Rwanda beginning back in 1988 and the roadside support for the race matches what we see in the Tour de France. Here are some of the men's racers you see behind those dots on the screen.

## Josh Ibbett

__Q.__ You’re returning to race RAR after taking part in the inaugural edition in 2020. Was RAR2020 your first foray into riding and racing in Africa?

__A.__ I’d raced in South Africa riding the Cape Epic before, but it’s very different to Rwanda. It’s a very welcoming country with so much energy.

__Q.__ RAR20 managed to destroy your only set of brake-pads in the first day of racing, were the road and weather conditions very different from what you’d researched before the race and are you expecting the same conditions given the race falls later this year?

__A.__ Yes that was a huge miscalculation in my part not bringing any spares. This time I have plenty! The monsoon appeared early in 2020 and the volcanic soil in the north of the country wreaked havoc on everyone’s brakes. But you need to be prepared for everything when bikepacking… it does and can rain often in Rwanda… Theres a reason it’s so lush and green.

__Q.__ Rwanda looks incredibly beautiful, what is the one thing you’re looking forward to on your return to the race?

__A.__ I’m actually already in Rwanda racing the Rwanda Epic MTB stage race. It’s a pairs race and my team mate is Rwandan, Jean Ruberwa.

__Q.__ Racing bikes and transporting goods by bike is big in Rwanda, there is a big local field of riders with some coming from a pro background and returning to race again in 2022. Could we see a local rider take the win and if so who do you think we should keep an eye on?

__A.__ Jean Ruberwa is ex-U23 road race champ and it was a steep learning curve for him and the other Rwandans in 2020, as it was their first experience of bikepacking. But they are much more knowledgeable now so will be a force to be reckoned with. Chasing Jean around the epic this week has been hard work!

__Q.__ Any local food treats you’ll be looking forward to on your return?

__A.__ There are many small villages with shops selling bread, small cakes and samosas. They taste great… especially a few days into an ultra.

__Q.__ Who would be your top three picks for a race win?
My top three picks for the race win are:
 *1.* Jean Ruberwa 
 *2.* Geoffrey Langat 
 *3.* Rich Rothwell.

On the women’s side I haven’t seen the start list just yet, but there are some experienced names on the list so I’m sure it’ll be a great race.

## Innocent Inyereba
__Q.__ Race Around Rwanda is your home race, did you know most of the roads in the race or were there many new roads to race on?

__A.__ Even though the Race Around Rwanda is my local race, it is hard to know every road on the route because Simon and Matt (the organisers) change the route every year. But I do know many of the roads on the route from training for the race.

__Q.__ You are doing the race again, what made you want to race it again?

__A.__ The RAR is a great race, it has given me time to increase my endurance and to meet many friends in the cycling and bikepacking community. It offers visitors the chance to see my fantastic country. I will be joining a new team called Peloton de Paris as a professional cyclist and a cycling coach.

__Q.__ Do you have any goals for this race?

__A.__ Yes, of course. I always have a goal in general and for this race I will try to improve on last years position which means I need to be in third position. 

__Q.__ Who is your pick for the top three in the race?

__A.__ First is me. But it not easy because this race there are my strong riders participating. So let’s see after a few days into the race.

__Q.__ When did you start riding a bike and when did you start bikepacking?

__A.__ I started to ride in 2012 and took up bikepacking in 2019, for the first Race Around Rwanda.

__Q.__ What is the one thing visitors to Rwanda should try?

__A.__ Rwanda has many fantastic areas: there are different national parks, museums, lakes, rivers and volcanoes. 

## Adrien Liechti 
__Q.__ You were out in Rwanda earlier this to do the Rwanda Beyond Bikepacking (the original date set for the race but it was effected by the Omicron variant). In the two months since the Rave the seasons have changed from the dry season to the wet season. How do the road conditions look, especially the gravel sections and has this affected how you’ve planned for the race?

__A.__ I was here for the Rwanda Beyond Bikepacking in January and it rained a lot! It’s the opposite - the weather is much drier and warmer now. We had a lot of rain and mud in January. The weather will be unpredictable I think, hot and with powerful thunderstorms! Choosing tires wasn’t easy!

__Q.__ You’ve spend quite a bit of time in Rwanda, what’s the one stand out feature you can highlight about Rwanda and the people of Rwanda?

__A.__ This country is beautiful, the landscapes are stunning and very hilly. The Rwandans are very kind, always smiling and ready to help you! It’s the land of thousand smiles!

__Q.__ There’s always a huge group of kids curious when a cyclist stops at the side of the road. What’s garnered more interest - your bike or your fabulous moustache?

__A.__ Ahah! I think my tattoos!

__Q.__ Any favourite snacks you found along the roadside which will fuel your race?

__A.__ Yes! Chapatis (bread patties) and mandazis (fried donut). Like the Rwandan riders! And the famous potatoes too!

__Q.__ Do you have any predictions for top 3 in the race?

__A.__ The top 3 is as unpredictable as the weather I think. But I'm sure it's going to be a great race!

The Race Around Rwanda sees four women take to the start-line. The beady-eyed among you may say there are five, but one rider has inadvertently been mislabeled in the tracking software. Both riders featured in the interviews are doing RAR as their first bikepacking race, both exciting and daunting in equal measure, so we wish them a safe and enjoyable race.

## Violette Neza
__Q.__ How are you managing to fit in a bike race between all your studies. Share with us what you are studying at the moment.

__A.__ I do manage both studying (school) and cycling!  When I am taking evening classes I do cycling trainings, and physical exercises in the morning or in day time and vice versa! I'm studying a Bachelor degree in Travel and Tourism Management at the University of Tourism Technology and Business Studies, I am also studying Languages and Destinations on the EF Program and studying short courses online in Tourism and Hospitality Management from Vatel Rwanda University.

__Q.__ We know the number of women taking part in cycling is low, so to be taking part in your local race must feel very special. When did you hear about the Race Around Rwanda and how long have you been training for the race?

__A.__ For sure the number of women's cyclist is low. I heard the Race Around Rwanda from 2020 and planning to do it in 2021 but because of Covid-19 it didn't happen so I planned to do it this year. I didn't do more training because I didn’t have all the equipment needed for bikepacking, I did low training on the road, so I hope I will do it well.

__Q.__ You took part in the Rwanda Beyond Bikepacking but didn’t finish due to an accident. How much of the current race route have you managed to ride?

__A.__ Yeah I had an accident in Rwanda Beyond Bikepacking. I managed to ride on  the road (tarmac) and I did one stage race in Rwandan Epic edition 2.

__Q.__ Rwanda is rich in scenery, from beautiful lakes to volcanoes. Which part of the race route are you looking forward to the most?

__A.__ Hundred per cent Rwanda is rich in scenery, from beautiful lakes to volcanoes. The best part is to the lakes.

## Sophie Jail
__Q.__ Bikepacking is a growing sport and more women are coming into the races. This will be your first race, have you done something similar in a non-race environment?

__A.__ I have done quite a few multiple weeks bikepacking trips alone or with friends and also had the chance to participate to the first Women’s Torino Nice rally a few months ago, organised by Lael Wilcox and Gaby Thompson. This was not a race but more like a challenge. After it, I realised it  was the first time I was bikepacking with other women! I should thank some of them who gave me the last push that I needed  to register for my first race.

__Q.__ What made you choose the Race Around Rwanda for your first race?

__A.__ Because Rwanda is so different and new to me, I feel like RAR has all the good sides of a bikepacking trip but with the spice of a race. I didn’t want just to push on my legs, I wanted to be challenged in other aspects.

__Q.__ You spent some time touring in an old car and fixing all the mechanicals that come with age (the car, not you). Will you be tapping into this pool of knowledge for the race and if so what one aspect will serve you best?

__A.__ I will definitely use the knowledge I learned from months on the road alone in foreign countries because the race is after all going to be the same thing. But to select one, if my bike breaks, I hope that all those times fixing my old Renault 4 in the middle of nowhere with stuff I found on the floor or trash will pay off! For me, it’s when something breaks that adventure begins. Even if in that case, I don’t mind if adventure begins after the finish line 😁.

__Q.__ How have you prepared for the mixture of tarmac and gravel?

__A.__ I would have prepared exactly the same if it was full tarmac or full gravel, excect for the tyres. I am used to doing gravel with slick tires. So I choose to do the same here, to be efficient on tarmac. Let’s pray for not too much rain though.

__Q.__ Did you grow up riding bikes or have you come into the sport later in life?

__A.__ For as long as I can remember, I have always ridden bikes, but just to go from point A to point B. Sometimes there was 1000km between those two points but still, I see cycling as a way of transportation more than a sport.  The « sport » side of cycling, as I see it, arrived only during my training time for the RAR because I was cycling to be better this time. But to be more specific, I started to do longer and more frequent rides 1,5 years ago when I bought my first road bike, and tried gravel for the first time 10 months ago.

Thanks to its catchy theme tune and highlights on GCN+, Rwanda’s 34 year old grand tour, The Tour of Rwanda, beamed into the living rooms of cycling enthusiasts around the world and gives riders of the 2022 Race Around Rwanda a glimpse of the reception they’ll receive as they weave their way around the vibrant green and rust landscape.

Crowds of supporters throng the route the professionals race and have done so from the early days of the pro tour. It’s apparent the love for cycling in Rwanda and not just from the sidelines. With a community that’s grown up riding bikes and loading them up to the max, could a home advantage play into the hands of a local win in the Race Around Rwanda?

Racers will need to prepare themselves for something they’re not accustomed to on a solo, unsupported bike race - an audience! Stop to fix a puncture and within moments a buzz of kids will surround them, equal measures of curiosity and excitement fill the air, breathing space invaded as a dozen little eyes peer into the problematic puncture brought on by thorns the size of hammers. If you’re not running tubeless and you aren’t carrying an extra supply of tyre sealant, you’ll be providing entertainment for a lot of kids along the route. So best you learn to say ‘amakuru’ (how are you?) and ‘ni meza’ (I am fine).

A land of plenty will provide riders with unplanned food stops not shown on Google maps. A side-of-the stall selling mangoes, sugar cane and bananas could play havoc to a well planned road-book - where racers plan their scheduled stops to keep their time off the bike to a minimum. Could the lure of a stick of sugarcane be the deciding factor in the race win? Or the smell of a tasty samosa lure a rider off track when the hunger pains kick in?

Sitting close to the equator, the temperatures don’t vary much around Kigali throughout the year, but with mountains abound, gains in elevation can see the temperatures drop, so riders will need to keep warm as they make their way up the mountains. Riders will spend some time at altitude with a top elevation of 2,800m while climbing a total of 17,000m of elevation.

There are 9 gravel sections in the race, covering 420km. The sectors are interspersed along the length of the race, so riders can expect their bikes to remain dirty right until the very end. Not that they would be finding a jet-wash at their local gas station anywhere along the route. Two sectors of note are the Twin Lakes and Gisovu Tea & Forest, where riders are gaining significant elevation on gravel. The Gisovu sector comes late in the race, with tired legs this will sure to bring out some expletives in the direction of the Race Director.

 | # | Sector | Start (km) | Dist.(km) | Elevation gain | Difficulty |
 | ---------- | ---------- | ---------- | ---------- | ---------- | ---------- |
 | 1 | Akagera park | 105 | 79 | 852 | 4 | 
 | 2 | Lake Muhazi | 195 | 50 | 534 | 2 | 
 | 3 | Twin Lakes | 317 | 53 | 1057 | 4 | 
 | 4 | Volcanoes Edge | 391 | 30 | 330 | 1 | 
 | 5 | Gishwati Forest | 427 | 28 | 789 | 4 | 
 | 6 | Congo Nile Debut | 499 | 9 | 520 | 2 | 
 | 7 | Gisovu Tea & Forest | 637 | 76 | 2419 | 6 | 
 | 8 | Kibeho Holy Land | 729 | 24 | 420 | 3 | 
 | 9 | Rwabusoro Bridge | 826 | 70 | 1015 | 3 | 
 |  | TOTAL |  | 419 | 7603 | 

33 riders have taken to the start-line, four of which are women and five are from Rwanda. Unfortunately two Rwandan riders were unable to start due to bikes not arriving in time for the race. Here’s a breakdown of nations on the start-line.

| Country | Riders |
| ---------- | ---------- |
| UK | 7 |
| Switzerland | 6 |
| Belgium | 5 |
| France | 5 |
| Rwanda | 5 |
| Italy | 1 |
| Kenya | 1 |
| Lithuania | 1 |
| Netherlands | 1 |
| Sweden | 1 |


As the cockerels crowded at 04:30am - they’re early risers in this part of the world - riders clipped into their pedals and turned the first in a large number of revolutions and pointed their wheels towards the mountain. Sunrise comes at 06:00am, so in the cover of darkness and the coolness this brings, a stream of lights made their way out of Kigali. 

## Mens’ race
The pace was fast from the gun. Geoffrey and Justinas set the early pace, putting the hurt on the following riders. Innocent, Richard and Boru were close on their heals, while the experience of Josh and Adrien appeared to keep them holding back on the chase up front. Day 1 excitement can come back to punish riders later in the race.

![Dawn patrol](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2SJAwzqLhlzT06rYh3MJei/8afd0acfc6ea8cbe3e1d32053c901426/RAR-2.jpg)

### Men’s placing at CP2:
Three men have made it through CP2 as at writing.
27 - Justinas Leveika CP2 Sat 19:47
26 - Geoffrey Langat CP2 Sat 19:54
25 - Josh Ibbett CP2 Sat 20:42
![Mens race](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5ghBo4G81QTmK1k8DiSX61/3788e6bc2a21e073d7440ee8f6ca974e/RAR-5.jpg)
## Women’s race
A small navigation hiccup didn’t impede Violette too much and she remains ahead of the women’s race. 

### Women placing at CP1:
33 - Violette Neza CP1 Sat 10:53
22 - Sophie Jail CP1 Sat 12:29
37-  India Landy CP1 13:05
11 - Elodie Dupres CP1 Sat 14:37
![Women's race RAR](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4c55ye2wMkh2wO6Gk3bQtd/a063c0a61a0f341ea0a84d94583d9e4e/IMG_4815.jpg)

Violette is yo-yoing between 7th and 8th place overall, with Sophie and Ally (in the men's department) pedaling stroke for stroke around the 20th place. India only arrived in Rwanda the day before the race, from the UK, and may take a day or two to acclimatise to the heat. While Elodie is taking a sensible easy start in the heat.

## The weather
Unseasonal hot weather saw riders needing to fill up their water bottles often and with the forecast looking like hot weather over the next few days, keeping hydrated and ensuring electrolytes are a part of replacing the salts riders sweat out in the hot weather, it will be the riders who take care of these small details and stay on top of overheating allowing them to recover enough to ride hard the next day.
![Water stop](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/2dB81sl5z70NvMFSA9m2q8/219cf811e8d917e9cbd7189c85920101/RAR-10.jpg)

The weather looks to remain hot on Sunday with rain coming through on Monday. Overnight temperatures won’t drop below 16ºC even with riders heading past Mount Mwiko at 2,100m. Weather in the mountains can fox the forecasters, but for now it seems warm and dry. Once the rain arrives, tyre choice could play a part in how riders progress over the ground.

Photos by [Naomi Cousins](https://www.instagram.com/naomicousinsphotography/).

As the Full Moon hands over the baton to the Waning Gibbous, a mere sliver of shadow would not be enough to darken the night skies and riders were afforded the opportunity to ride into the night under cloudless skies and moon shadows. Overnight lows fell to around 16ºC, a very comfortable temperature for riders to keep pressing on after the days extraordinary heat wave.

Placing in the men’s race didn’t change overnight, but the women’s race was more hotly contested with riders coming into CP2 within 7 minutes of each other.

## Men’s race
Avoiding sleep, the leading men pressed through Check Point 2, at the Africa Rising Cycling Centre, and onto the town of Gisenyi. This would lead them towards the Gishwati Forest gravel sector, a 28km trail with 789m of elevation gain, affording this sector a 4 star rating in toughness. Forests usually mean humidity is high, so the leading riders would be thankful this came at night when temperatures are cooler. 

31km separated the lead rider Justinas Leveika from second placed rider Geoffrey Langat through the small hours of the night. But with some big climbs and possibly a hike-a-bike section for Geoffrey to still tackle, Justinas’ lead seems to be safe for the moment.

The tussle for 3rd place, between Josh Ibbett and Adrien Liechti, continued through the night, with the two swapping places regularly. Josh held the lead in the cover of dark, while Adrien snuck ahead as dawn took hold of the night. 

Justinas made CP3 an hour and a half after daybreak, Sunday 7:35am. In 27 hours he’s covered 589km.
1. Justinas Leveika
2. Geoffrey Langat
3. Josh Ibbett / Adrien Liechti

## Women’s race
The wee hours of the night saw the two leading women riding within four kilometres of each other. Pushing through to make CP2, Violette Neza and Sophie Jail arrived around 2:30am, just 7 minutes apart. Taking the opportunity to get some shuteye, both riders stayed at CP2 for a few hours. While Sophie stayed put at CP2, Violette left around 6:15, getting a small jump on Sophie, this currently puts Violette around 8km ahead of Sophie. India Landy is making steady progress along the course and passed the 276km mark around 3:30am CAT, she is yet to make CP2 which lies at the 384km mark. The leading women riders covered 384km in 22 hours.
1. Violette Neza
2. Sophie Jail
3. India Landy

## The rest of the pack
By 7:15am CAT 18 riders passed through CP2. Two riders scratched on Day 1, never a great thing to report and should there be an update on the reasons, it will be reported in the upcoming race reports. Elodie Deprez’s Dot showed up back in Kigali this morning, let’s hope she’s ok.
Apart from the leading 4 riders, the majority are now on the north most part of the route, making their way towards Gisenyi, where views of the volcanoes will soon lead them into the Gishwati forest and onto Lake Kivu.


As riders pass through the Africa Rising Cycling Centre (ARCC), it seems timely to shine the spotlight on the local riders in the race.  Team Africa Rising has been a nonprofit supporting professional African cyclists since 2007 and the ARCC is home to the national team. While the ARCC refuelled riders and dispatched them into the night, we’ve been collecting some intel on the local talent.

Seven riders were aiming to start the race, unfortunately due to some equipment not arriving Didier and Seth from Team Amani were unable to start, leaving __Geoffrey Langat__ from Kenya as the sole rider from the team taking to the start-line. Geoffrey won a stage in the Migration Race last year but being new to ultra-distance riding means his pacing and sleeping strategy are unknown and unproven. He’s been keeping pace with Justinas in first place after the first sleepless night. Riders can usually make it through 2 nights without lack of sleep impacting them too much. At 1,000km in length, Race Around Rwanda may just afford Geoffrey the get-out-of-jail-free pass in the sleep deprivation department, as the riders are sure to finish before the third night. In 2019 the winner, Ultan Coyle, finished in 2 days 12 hours 40 minutes.
![Geoffrey Langat](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4LfzXIRzruPKk04yEnTW7o/a7e68beac70893eee40d6c95453d504b/IMG_BBD066FFE833-1.jpeg)

A second initiate is Rwanda Beyond. Education is a key part of the Rwanda Beyond project, which is based on three pillars: Cycling Events in Rwanda, Opportunities for riders (beyond the conventional cycling) and schooling for not just our own cyclists, but all Rwandans on a bike.
Three riders are supported through Rwanda Beyond: __Jean Ruberwa__, __Eric Nduwayo__ and __Innocent Inyireba__. All are former pro-cyclists moving across to gravel and ultra cycling two years ago. They’re taking part in their second RAR and after a steep learning curve in 2019, they come back with better bikes and gears. Their understanding of what bikepacking entails, using navigation devices and what to expect put them in good contention for the race lead or podium.

Jean Ruberwa
![Jean Ruberwa](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1z9nNvIMYsESEn0ZMliduT/30e5ad56cdeadbd935690d493b445d94/42eb2263-b7ea-4c74-96b0-5685601b1ad1.JPG)
Eric Nduwaya
![Eric Nduwaya](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5WYXeMzsNmY1Yxp5nicmwp/e60b5ad57ab84ef6ed1953e445e6b934/f3b86f09-8101-4b71-b3cb-f497c1d60b90.JPG)
Innocent Inyirebal
![Innocent Inyireba](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/6bG8mFLGCpfawVqKDEYGan/db978374de9518d761605a2df8082e88/WucMU.jpeg)

__Fazil Rukara__ comes from a marathon background, pairing up with Innocent in the first edition in 2019, they achieved 2nd place in the pairs race. Riding solo this year, Fazil will present the wildcard in the race. “But he is just always strong, and always happy. Doesn't seem to get tired, ever. Honestly I think this race is a bit too easy for him!” according to race director Simon.
![Fazil Rukara](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5xORrCADuWG6FFHFiz2MAo/8dd63cfe83002b2fc4a90ab0abea5430/b8a0e809-bc0e-4e40-a7d7-059ba1a24e2f.JPG)

Also supported by Rwanda Beyond, __Violette Neza__ has come to the race with the women’s top place in mind. A professional cyclist who is pursuing a university degree along with two other courses. Training by day and studying at night puts her at odds with her coaches, but that doesn’t seem to impact her training - as seen by her high placing in the overall standings on RAR. She was in a horrible accident (head on collision with a drunk driver) at the bikepacking trip six weeks ago, but is all up and ready again and appears to be unhindered mentally or physically from the crash.
![Violette Neza](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5cZxOL59AAECWwO20by8If/43eb5d05b37bf35179171b2253a802be/84684dcc-0bf1-45a8-93d4-8a6fedba2743.JPG)


Never trust a weather forecast when mountains are involved. Micro-climates in and around the mountains can put doubt in the best forecasts. Dry weather was predicted on most sites bar one, which forecast thundershowers. They got it right and riders found themselves in black sticky mud on one section of gravel. It was mostly the leaders reporting the mud which certainly didn't look like it was going to dry any time soon, so those following are surely in for some muddy miles.
Photo: Adrien Liechti
![Mud](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/4q7IVpxcFnrptjGTsLI6cK/86fc5f350f6e25bb8351853695ec5750/IMG_4872.PNG)

## Men's race

Places throughout the day remained steady with the leading riders, each holding onto their placings. While the distance between riders fluctuated, either due to riders being on different terrain - for instance when one is climb and another is descending, distances will fluctuate. Or a comfort or food break can impact these distances. At dawn Justinas held a 31km lead over Geoffrey, this came together at 10km during the day and then extended out to 20km later in the day. Where riders are travelling at the same speed and being equally diligent at keeping their stops as efficient as possible, it’s only luck that can change the course of the race.

Justinas self reported am unrepairable puncture just before the 744km mark and is in the process of being ferried around by motorbike for a solution. Geoffrey, who has been chasing Justinas since day one, closed the gap on Justinas and it set to pass him. Unable to delve into the data on the tracking app, making an educated guess as to what’s happening on the ground is not possible. So watch this space.

Lady luck is most certainly not on Josh Ibbett’s side as his pace is slowed by stomach issues. He’s moved ahead of Adrien Liechti, but only time will tell how this pans out. Morning will bring the answers we’re looking for.

Innocent and Richard are still holding onto 5th and 6th place respectively with Jean Ruberwa chasing behind in 7th place. 

## Women’s race
Violette made it into CP3, a lovely hotel overlooking Lake Kivu, arriving at 19:34 on Sunday. There’s currently a dinner party at the check point, with seven riders and all their control cars holding fort while the chefs cook up and storm and riders take a much needed shower. No doubt some will choose to rest in the comfort of some soft, white linen sheets before pressing on into the night or wee hours of the morning. 

Sophie is 18km away from CP3 and depending on the terrain and the gradient, she could be anywhere between an hour and 3 hours from a warm meal and a hot shower. 

India holds 3rd position at 442km, with 140km to make it to CP3, it looks like breakfast may be the order of the day for her. 

## The rest of the pack
One of the disadvantages of also being a bikepacker myself and training for a race, means bed time calls me sooner than the racers. So I promise a more comprehensive look at the riders lurking the in shadows tomorrow and what they can expect. from the remainder of the course For certain rain is forecast and these lovely dry sectors of gravel are going to turn nasty. This is where tyre choice will play a key role and will take a good set of thighs and great bike handling skills to stay pedalling on some of the sectors. So for now it’s “Muramuke” (good night in Rwandese) from me and I’ll be up bright and early with some more race updates. 


The drama unfolded as day turned to night for the riders at the front end of the race. The day was dominated by punctures and it cost Justinas the lead, which he is attempting to claw back.

Suffering an unrepairable puncture, one can only assume this was a sidewall tear in his tyre, Justinas was unable to repair it and spent valuable time being driven around by motorbike in search of a solution. All the while Geoffrey was making steady progress over the ground and at 9:30pm on Sunday night he went past Justinas position. By this point Justinas was around 10-15km off the race route and once his bike was repaired he needed to return to the 715km mark to resume where he'd left off. Geoffrey was by then at 755km.

Geoffrey made CP4 at 5:22am (Monday), grabbing two bananas and pressing on, knowing that Justinas is bearing down on him. From an advantage of 40km, at the time of puncture, but CP4 Justinas made up 20km on Geoffrey. Adrien arrived 30 minutes later and Justinas was hot on his heals, a mere 7 minutes off. 

150km of the race remain. It’s an undulating ride to the finish with only one large climb to 1,600m before the finish. The route remains largely on tarmac with all the gravel sectors completed already for the race leaders. This is going to be a time-trail to the finish-line and those with the stronger legs over the ‘flatter’ ground will gain over this remaining distance. Whoever has the most left in their legs will no doubt make the most gains to the finish-line.


While the excitement at the front of the race distracted us from those further behind. They are not forgotten and as promised yesterday, we'll delve into the mid-pack a little more today.

## Women's race
Violette arrived at CP3 two hours ahead of Sophie and took the opportunity to get some sleep, leaving an hour after Sophie. With this additional rest time, she making gains on Sophie with just 2km between the two at the time of reporting. It’s very temping to adjust your race strategy to jump ahead of another rider, especially when you see them sleeping at a check point. Both riders are new to bikepacking races, so their race strategies will mostly be untested and they’ll not have the previous experience of knowing how their bodies will react to sleep deprivation and continual riding. Food plays a key role too and in this instance being local to the cuisine may have an advantage for Violette. But I think the additional sleep could be the race deciding factor. Let’s wait and watch how the race pans out - my predictions could also not be correct. The leading women still have CP4 ahead of them where they can get a good refuelling and some additional sleep. From there it’s 140km to the finish-line. As mentioned previously, this is on flatter terrain and smooth tarmac. Those time-trail legs will need to kick in to hold off the competition.
Sophie Jail (photo @juliendouvier - Instagram)
![Sophie Jail](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/5y9VYOZzcltj133McVeyEc/2f40af43a60384d828fd1c2e8cc37db5/IMG_4900.jpg)

## Places 4 to 10 (as at CP3)
Riders flowed steadily into CP3, keeping the volunteers busy stamping brevet cards while directing riders to showers and food. 

### 4th - Josh Ibbett (25)
After reporting some issues with his stomach, Josh continues to keep a steady pace along the course, arriving 30 minutes after Adrien and Justinas at CP4. A three way tussle for 2nd place is unlikely to happen, but it's a gravel race, so you never know which mechanical mother nature will throw at the riders. Josh is taking a quick 30 minute power nap at CP4 before pressing on to arrive in Kigali before dinner time. 

### 5th - Innocent Inyereba (20)
Innocent arrived 2.5 hours after Josh (CP3), he’s been keeping a good pace to the leaders, but not gaining on them. At the time of writing (07:00 Rwanda time), Innocent’s tracker shows him still sleeping along side the road. Assuming this is a tracking issue and not that he’s forgotten to switch on his alarm, we’ll wait for a report from CP4 for his arrival. 

### 6th - Richard Rothwell (28)
After keeping pace with Innocent into CP1 and CP2, Richard steadily lost time over the ground into CP3, losing around an hour between CP2 and CP3 to Innocent. Overnight saw him riding into a Thunderstorm and no doubt some rain that comes with in. 
![Richard Rothwell](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/3zOH0EERrIHtALKC4YjPUR/1ce97a8a2627207dc282655dc318eb2b/Screenshot_2022-03-21_at_09.10.46.png)

### 7th - Jean Ruberwa (23)
At CP1 Jean as 30 minutes behind Richard, dropping to 2h15 hours behind at CP2 before clawing back to within 1h30 at CP3. Ever smiling and seemingly always eating, Jean could reel Richard in before the finish-line. If the loss of time to Richard was due to extra sleep over Richard, this could pay dividends towards the end of the race, where fatigue can cause riders to slow in pace. It’s amazing how a mere 30 minute nap can add life back into the legs and with course remaining relatively flat and on tarmac to the end, this could play into Jean’s hands. This will be an exciting battle for 6th place. (Race update) Jean decided to take some extra sleep, so has dropped behind Boru. He’s planning to do the last 400km in one go. This will give us a real-time insight into the value of sleeping and whether fresh legs and indeed do battle on the weary.

### 8th - Boru McCullagh (9)
After a blistering pace out of Kigali, Boru has settled into the top 10. Initially ahead of Jean into CP2 by around an hour, he lost 2 hours on him going into CP3. 
![Boru McC](//images.ctfassets.net/6hyijb95boju/1cEtelJ04fGRsdQ2cFyKrw/91e789b81349d311c3b789c7c945066c/Screenshot_2022-03-21_at_09.13.05.png)

### 9th - Adam Palin (35)
Bike mechanic, super handy in this terrain, and sporting this seasons must-have on a bike, a fabulous moustache - Adam has been swapping places regularly with 10th placed Fazil Rukura. Info is thin on the ground for the mid-pack and with no postings up on social media, i can’t add to their story too much.

### 10 - Fazil Rukura (15)
You’ll know Fazil from the 2019 edition of the race, where he rode as a pair with Innocent. Currently just 15 minutes behind Adam into CP3, could this marathon runner retain his good legs into the finishing straight for a 9th place in the race?


Let’s talk tyres and technical issues. Essentially I would say the Race Around Rwanda is a gravel race with large sections of tarmac to speed riders to the next section of the race hell bent on destroying bikes and their tyres.

## Tyres
Tyre choice and whether to go tubeless or run inner tubes forms a key part of race decisions coming into racing around Rwanda. The wheels you own will determine whether you can run them tubeless (with a sealing fluid rather than an inner tube). Some wheels can not be used without inner tubes. Thus, this is your only option. 

## Inner tubes
The down side to this should be fairly apparent - if you get a hole in the inner tube, then you’ll need to stop and fix it. Everytime. Thorns tend to be the main issue when riding on tarmac - the little blighters get blown onto the road and get picked up by the tyre. Some puncture instantly, others work their way through the tyre slowly. A large obvious thorn is easy to spot and tends to puncture instantly. The smaller ones work in slowly, this usually causes a slow deflation of the tyre and only make a very, very small hole in the inner tube. In race conditions a larger hole is easier to find and quicker to repair than a small hole, which can be hard to find and most often would need a bath of water to locate the leak. Then you’ll need something clean to dry the tyre before applying the patch. Good luck finding that after so many gravel sectors in the race.

## Gravel and inner tubes
Throw in some gravel and inner tubes get a double beating. The tyre is not sealed at the rim - as happens with tubeless - fine grains of sand work their way between the tyre and the inner tube. Overtime these grains slowly create small holes in the inner tube. To find them is hard and to resolve you’ll need to clean the sand out from the inside of the tyre and brush off the inner tube.

## Inner tubes + tyre sealant
A solution to the above issues would be to use tyre sealant in the inner tubes - it’s easy enough to do by carrying a valve core remover and a small bottle of tyre sealant. I used this during my 2014 TransAm bike race, on day one, after 300km and only 20km from my hotel I passed a rider fixing an inner tube along a section of new chip and seal road, a few minutes later I hear the ‘psss’ sound from my front tyre and thought ‘oh no!” Then nothing, it sealed itself and I rode onto the hotel to a nice bed and hot meal. This works really well until you get a pinch puncture.

## Pinch punctures and inner tubes
Another downside to running inner tubes is a pinch puncture - when the inner tube gets pinched between the rim and the road - this leaves a nice parallel, double hole in the inner tube. Tyre sealant won’t self-seal and you’re left with a huge mess of fluid all over the place. Another downside with inner tubes is not being able to ride them at lower pressures - you’d ride lower pressures on rougher gravel sections, but pinch punctures are very common if you do.

## Tubeless
Most riders are on tubeless, the benefits are apparent - punctures self seal, mostly. If they don’t you can use a sticky slither of rubber, which you poke into the hole with a special little gadget - this plugs the hole and you can re-inflate the tyre relatively quickly. The key is keeping the pressure off the tyre while you repair it, so you don’t lose the seal created between the tyre and the rim, if you do there’s tyre sealant all over the place and little left in the tyre to do it’s job. Lose the seal and it’s also a right royal pain to reseal it, often needing a high-pressure inflation device - a CO2 canister can do the trick but how many of those do riders realistically carry?

## Tyre slashes
Gravel also lends itself to putting larger cuts into the sidewall of a tyre - this doesn’t matter if it’s tubeless or clinchers (with inner tubes). With an inner tube, you can usually put in a tyre-boot or a piece of your toothpaste tube between the tyre and the inner tube. For tubeless your options are to start using inner tubes, or you can sew up the side wall and hope the tyre sealant does the rest. If not then you’re on to inner tubes and all the issues that come with it.

## Race Around Rwanda
Punctures have been aplenty and none more so than for poor __Ally Matheson__, who started reporting an endless stream of punctures, hotel stops (probably to use the bath for the inner tube) and is now in the vicious cycle of a slow puncture and needing to keep topping up this tyre pressure. Behind by where he’d like to be and running tyre pressures usually found in cyclocross bike, he’s pumping away frantically to keep his forward momentum. I bet he’s also riding the rough sections like he’s cycling over eggs.

It was reported that __Justinas__ had punctured, while he didn’t say so as much, I can only assume he suffered a side-wall slash and wasn’t able to repair it. Someone will correct me if I have this wrong. 

Peta McSharry

1,000km in the Land of a Thousand Hills. Rwanda's first bikepacking race is back since 2020 to delight our screens with its beautiful landscapes, locals and unpredictable weather.

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