Rwanda has officially submitted its bid to host the UCI Road World Championships in 2025. If it was to win, it would become the first African nation to ever host the Worlds.
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The East African has for some time been touted as potential host, but visited the UCI headquarters in Switzerland this week of hand over an official bid.
The New Times reports that John Ntigengwa, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Sports and Culture and Aimable Bayingana, the president of the local cycling federation, met with UCI president David Lappartient in Aigle on Wednesday.
Lappartient visited Rwanda late last year, where he gave his own support to bringing the Road World Championships to the continent.
UPDATE: #Rwanda has officially submitted the bid to host the 2025 UCI Road World Championships.
With host nations between 2019 and 2024 already known, Rwanda would be the first African country to host the world’s biggest cycling event since its inception in 1921. #Rwanda2025 pic.twitter.com/rNtNoaxXC7
— The New Times (Rwanda) (@NewTimesRwanda) September 11, 2019
Rwanda has seen huge crowds gather for the Tour du Rwanda in recent years, with the race promoted from a UCI 2.2 race to a UCI 2.1 race this year.
However, Rwanda will likely face competition from Morocca for the 2025 Worlds, which is the next available year to host the races.
Yorkshire in the UK is this year’s setting for the Worlds, with events getting underway on Sunday September 22 with the mixed relay team time trial.
Aigle and Martigny in Switzerland will host in 2020, Bruges and Leuven in Belgium in 2021, Wollongong in Australia in 2022, Glasgow in the UK in 2023 and Zurich in Switzerland in 2024.
The World Championships can bring a significant economic boost to host regions, with Innsbruck Tyrol reporting a contribution of €40m GDP to the area after hosting in September 2018.
