Pro racing near an active war zone? World Tour teams may pull out of Tour du Rwanda amidst serious safety concerns

The World Championships will take place in Rwanda this year, and so more than ever the Tour du Rwanda's notoriety and importance grows. However facing big questions and concerns over an armed conflict where the African nation is involved, a few of the top teams may decide last-minute to forfeit the event.

The World Championships' first edition in the African continent is an historical milestone, however with seven months to go there are major concerns of it's viability. The event will take place in Rwanda, based on it's capital of Kigali, which has proven to be an extremely popular cycling hotspot as shown in the country's top race.

But in recent weeks an armed conflict has re-opened in the nearby Congo. Since 2022, Rwandan forces have entered the internationally recognized borders of the Congo to support the M23 rebel groups against the Congolese government. Perhaps this would go rather unnoticed in the world of professional cycling, but that is not the case because the Tour du Rwanda will be racing only a few dozen kilometers away from the active conflict area.

The geopolitical situation is a complex one and it is very unlikely to be resolved in the upcoming weeks. The race begins on the 23rd February, and teams such as Soudal - Quick-Step, UAE Team Emirates - XRG, Lotto, Israel - Premier Tech, Team Picnic PostNL and TotalEnergies will have either their elite or under-23 structures present (although they can freely choose riders from their elite team, under specific conditions).

Het Nieuiwsblad questions Soudal - Quick-Step DS Kevin Hulsmans over the possibility of the team not taking part in the event which starts in just over two weeks. “I have done the Tour of Rwanda twice in the past as sports director. Beautiful race, fun to ride, great field of participants. Normally at least. Because now I am quite worried. I have looked at the stage schedule and stages three and four will be a stone's throw from where the rebels are. It is perhaps fifty kilometers less. Including an overnight stay in that region. I do have some questions about that.”

Kigali itself is only 160 kilometers away from the city of Goma where Rwandan-backed forces entered only days ago, but the race will take place at times only dozens of kilometers away from the border and it will even include an overnight stay in the region - only kilometers away from an area where there is active shelling from both sides which is leading to civilian casualties.

Team CEO Jurgen Foré shares the concerns over the possibility of having his riders so close to the conflict zone, where a lot can happen. "They guarantee our safety, they say. But what does that mean? Even if there is only a small chance that something will happen, even that is too much. I am willing to believe that there is nothing wrong in the interior of Rwanda and that everything is calm and safe. But we would have at least liked them to stay further away from the region in question. And that is not the intention at the moment. That is a cause for concern.”

Currently this developing situation not only threatens the Tour du Rwanda itself, but also the very possibility of the World Championships taking place in Kigali. Although the UCI denies it, there are rumours that a 'plan B' route is being organized in Switzerland if the situation does not improve.