WE GO AGAIN
From Kayonza to the streets of Italy, on a steel-wheeled bike
The main road through the village of Kayonza in the east of Rwanda is a dusty brick boulevard, flanked by deep gutters. The cobbles, laid in neat circles, are covered in the same light dust as the pavements on which dozens of bicycles are parked. They are the steel, thick-wheeled bikes of commuters, strong enough for Africa and the cobbled roads of Kayonza. Joseph Areruya, who became the first Rwandan cyclist to win in Europe on Wednesday, was born in Kayonza on New Year’s Day, 1996. The 21-year old won the fifth stage of the under-23 Giro d’Italia on a cobbled street in Senigallia on Italy’s east coast. After thanks and dedication to his mother, Areruya, who rides for Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka’s feeder squad, was already looking ahead. Just five years after he began racing, he wanted the big show: "My dream is to compete in the Tour de France, the biggest race of all, and showing how Daniel Teklehaimanot, an African rider among the great, succeeded." Teklehaimanot of Eritrea ...
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