Race Around Rwanda 2023

The finishers’ party is in full flow in Kigali, as the 2023 edition of the Race Around Rwanda comes to a close. However, the race is not over. The finish actually remains open until midnight tonight, local time.

And this is fortunate since it has allowed Vadym (#17) to yet again beat the time cut and make it across the line. Yesterday, he arrived at CP4 with just minutes to spare, but his arrival at the finish tonight was a little more relaxed, with almost an hour and a half remaining.

What a ride from Vadym! He has bounced back incredibly from his illness at the start of the race, seemingly getting stronger as the days progressed. And most importantly, he’s definitely not lost his sense of humour, today posting a story of himself kissing the tarmac after the last stretch of gravel before Kigali.

But spare a thought for Emmanuel Matti (#81), who is the last rider still out on the course. Similarly to Vadym, he was laid low by sickness early on and has been making up time ever since. However, he has sadly been unable to make the time cuts and won’t get to the finish tonight (by bike, at least). Still, it’s been a valiant effort and one that shows plenty of determination.

Earlier today, we saw three other riders finally make it home safe, with Julie Melville (#23), Fergal Treacy (#18) and Jai Arumugam (#19) all finishing. Julie and Jai both reported finding the last gravel section especially tough, with notorious “peanut butter” mud jamming their wheels.

In a heartbreaking turn of events, Julie also discovered last night that a friend of hers, Lama Al-Mohtasib, had been killed whilst riding her bike in Qatar. Fittingly, she dedicated her finish to Lama, a passionate triathlete, with these beautiful words on Instagram:

“Every pedal stroke towards the finish was in her memory. I truly believe she was there in all the beautiful moments. The end is usually emotional for good reasons. Today it was because I am heartbroken 💔. This finish was for you @lama_almohtasib - every beautiful view, every beautiful moment is in your memory. The world lost a bright shining star yesterday and all of our lives will be a little bit less because of it. This race was for you Lama💔”

All our thoughts are with Lama’s family, as well as the family of Theeb Akkawai who was also killed with her. I’m sorry to have to finish on such a sombre note. But if there is one place that reminds us all that there is hope even after terrible tragedy, that place is Rwanda.

It has been a pleasure to follow the riders throughout the race, and I know that every single one of them will have countless stories that never made it into our commentary. But thanks to all of them that have shared their experience, as well as to Matt and Simon for not just organising everything, but doing their best to feed both Niel and me with updates.

Until next year, that’s a wrap.

Rob

First of all, we must offer our sincerest apologies to Lisa, who must have slipped under Rob's radar last night as she stormed home as second female finisher at 08:11 on Friday morning. Alina came in just 40 minutes later to round off the podium.

But there is always a story behind the ride. Lisa was sporting some nice cuts and blood to the hands, clearly a late crash not slowing her down too much. But her approach to the wet wooden bridge crossing on one of the final gravel sections involved taking off her shoes for more grip. Wet feet for the rest of the ride!

Alina seemed very happy with her 3rd place finish, despite (in her own words, or her sisters) being not the best at gravel and MTB she's clearly not that bad! Some of her photos of the gravel sections have been great.

Today really was the story of after the rain comes the sunshine. Jeff and Josh were seen hiding from the sun with some 125km to go at lunchtime. They didn't hide for long though and came home this evening. I'm sure those finishing beers taste good!

Out on the course, Jai and Julie look set on finishing this off tonight. A little confusion over the closure of CP4 saw Jai leave his hotel on the edge of the rain forest at 2am, keen to make sure he didn't miss the assumed closing of the CP at midday. Julie followed not long behind and they look to be making steady progress through the last gravel section as the sun set. Possibly a 2am finish for them. From recollection there is very little in the way of accommodation so they may have no choice. At least the tarmac starts earlier this year, with the new road expanding.

Story of the day, and maybe even the race, has to be Vadym. Despite illness striking on day one and having to seek medical help at Byumba at KM 270, he didn't let it worry him and has spent the last 2 days chasing down the checkpoints before they close. He's got 60km to go to CP4 and just over 3 hours to get there. Come on Vadym!!!!

The finishers party is at 18:30 tomorrow night and the time cut is at 23:59. Fingers crossed Vadym, keep on pushing.

Elijus and Pawel are busy organising day rides around Kigali (seriously guys, you have a problem) and the numbers still out on the course are dwindling, but that doesn’t mean the action is over. Currently, there is a fight on for second place in the women’s race, with Alina Kilian (#55) and Caroline Buckland (#84) around 100km from the finish and practically on top of each other.

We’ve still only seen one finisher in the women’s race, largely thanks to Charlotte Bush having to scratch whilst in second place yesterday. She chose to drop out after her boyfriend, Jack Breen (#9) attempted to resurface some Rwandan asphalt with his skin. Fortunately, he’s not too badly injured, but Charlotte and Robert Loveless (#88) both opted to scratch to join him at the hospital.

However, that means that we have a real battle on our hands for second place now. It would appear that Alina is the one on the hunt, having seemingly closed a 90-minute gap on Caroline since CP4. But they are both heading onto the last stretch of gravel now, in the dark, so there is plenty that could happen between here and the finish.

In the pairs category, we saw the podium rounded off by the arrival of Jean Baptiste Wiroth and Emmanuelle Livet (pair 52) earlier today. This means that it was three mixed pairs that took the top spots.

Back on the course, there have been reports of some very heavy rainstorms, leading to some of the riders hunkering down to wait things out. This includes Julie Melville (#23), Dawn Barnable (#6) and Jai Arumugam (#19), who all seem thrilled to be next to a warm fire and out of the rain in this photo:

Looking less thrilled, Mex Wieshofer shared the below video from a particularly treacherous section after CP4. He decided that discretion was the better part of valour and retreated back to the CP rather than press on in those conditions. He’s joined by a number of other riders, who all seem to be sheltering there.

Finally, an honourable mention for our sole Ukrainian rider, Vadym Tiroshko (#17), who is towards the back of the pack but is doing a fantastic job of capturing the experience of riding in Rwanda. You can check out his stories on Instagram here (and do other things that I’m not sure if I’m allowed to promote on Dotwatcher 🇺🇦💵✈️).

Anyway, that’s all from me today. Niel will be back tomorrow to let you know how the battle between Alina and Caroline ended.

Rob

After the rain finally came, riders were impacted through the rainforest and along the route from CP3 to the finish with thunderstorms reported. Ladies winner Violette had to take shelter overnight, careful to protect her lead and ensure she finished safely. Returning racer Eddie reported hiding under the cover of a crashed lorry going through the Nyungwe section. He made it safely through and is rapidly closing in on the finish line.

The finish line has been a busy place today with riders arriving thick and fast and then proceeding to enjoy the local beer. After being neck and neck for a lot of the race, Toni finally got the jump on Emilio and finished a couple hours ahead. A well paced race saw Miguel finish in the early hours of the morning closely followed by Violette. Then four in quick succession with Giona rounding out the top ten followed by Fazil, Marius and Soeren. Florian in the evening.

Then as the evening closed in we had our first pair home. A great ride from Mona and Daniel finishing in 3 days 15 hours and 55 minutes.

As always though it seems the riders out there the longest have the most stories to tell. Today is a tale of two mechanicals. First up Jose, he's had issues with his shifters and can no longer change gear. He's decided to ride the last 400km single speed. Good luck Jose. But story of the day has to go to Caroline. A broken free hub in the middle of the night, she then got on 3 busses to get back to Kigali, had some food, got her free hub fixed and got a taxi back out to where she'd left the course and is back racing again. Chapeau Caroline, now bring this home.

At the other end of the race it's a race to be back for the finishers party. The tough conditions with the rain and gravel have made progress slow but progress is still being made. I think the party on the beach of the first night is now a long faded memory.

There should be five more finishers through the night. Graham is in the final outskirts of Kigali with Simon about 40km out at the moment. Second place pairs of Katrien and Manu should be home in the next 3 hours or so. Eddie's got the short straw still a good 5 hours away from Kigali but making good progress. Let's hope the rain holds off tonight.

We have our ladies winner. Violette has put in a stunning ride to finish first woman and 9th overall. With a commanding performance from start to finish, her win was never really in doubt, but you still have to finish the job off. Which she did in a time of 3 days 6 hours and 49 minutes. She was overheard at the finish line saying 'I'll be back next year to defend my title'. Good work Violette.

More updates to follow

As we enter the evening of the third day, the top five are already home and dry. And the emphasis is certainly on dry. The rain we have been long predicting has finally arrived. Thunderstorms have been reported around CP4, which - as Niel and I can attest - is where the Rwandan mud is at its stickiest.

Fazil (#35) and Violette (#32) are currently tackling this section, following a quick stop to rest at CP4. On paper, the riding from CP4 back to Kigali is much easier than the section that precedes it. However, the riders will have to either hope the rain is light enough not to saturate the mud or so torrentially heavy that they can ride from puddle to puddle to clear their wheels. If not, it could be a long night for them both!

As for our top five, they were Kenneth Karaya (#69 - pictured), Geoffrey Langat (#62), Pawel Pulawski (#43) and Evan Wangai (#66). Kenneth arrived completely empty and, despite loving his experience of Rwanda, admitted that he needed to eat more if he wanted to nab the elusive first place next time.

Meanwhile, Pawel had a rare time bonus added this morning, although it didn’t end up affecting his finishing position. He was stopped by some soldiers concerned for his welfare in Nyungwe Forest, which is heavily patrolled thanks to its closeness to the border with Burundi. After some phone calls and reassurances that he was just a crazy, sleep-deprived cyclist and not in any real danger, he was allowed to proceed but lost an hour in the process.

Further back, there appear to be a lot of riders hunkered down at CP3 this evening, which may have something to do with the weather. However, they have plenty to keep themselves occupied whilst off the bike, including trying to reunite this retainer/aligner with its rightful owner:

Interestingly, both sets of riders vying for the win in the pairs category are still out on the road, although it’s unclear if that’s from choice or simply a lack of other options, given where they are. Currently, Daniel and Mona (#3) hold a small lead over Manu and Katrien (#54).

Hopefully, they’re both gunning for the win and we’re going to see them push on for the finish after they reach CP4, heading straight into the mud to see who can slither their way fastest to Kigali!

Any particularly observant dotwatchers will also have noticed that Simon Jones (#48) has jumped a few places and is currently at CP4. He was picked up by a local and taken to get medical attention with suspected heat stroke. Fortunately, he seems to be okay and is recovering. Apparently, he will be allowed to ride back and continue the race if he wants to, although I’m somewhat doubtful that was the doctor’s advice…

That’s all from me this evening. Let’s finish by highlighting that the top five contained three Kenyans, whilst we’re also expecting the women’s race to have a (dominant) Rwandan victor. Not a bad race for African cycling so far!

Rob

Just before 07:00 local time, Elijus Civillis (#77) rolled across the finish line in Kigali, having led the race for over 24 hours. Thanks to the storms never materialising and recent road improvements, combined with a ferocious pace from the start, this was the fastest-ever Race Around Rwanda. Elijus finished in just over 50 hours, not sleeping at all during his ride.

Coming into the race, Elijus was a bit of an unknown quantity to anyone unfamiliar with Lithuanian cycling. But a quick Google search will let you know that he is not only an accomplished and passionate rider but also a former vice minister in the Lithuanian government. Not your average grubby ultracyclist then!

Upon arriving at the finish, Elijus was unsurprisingly happy, but also incredibly respectful of the race and what a privilege it had been to participate. Asked about his tactics, he emphasised consistency and not getting sucked into the attacks in the lead group during the early part of the race, which is the kind of level-headed riding we often see from eventual winners. Chapeau Elijus!

Behind Elijus, Kenneth (#69) has second place all but wrapped up and is closing on Kigali. And, in fact, all of the top five positions look relatively settled now, with large gaps emerging. However, further back, we have some interesting battles forming, especially for the top 10.

Currently, four riders (#35, #32, #76, #48) are all leaving Nyungwe and riding close to one another, fighting for the last three positions in the top 10. Among these is Violette (#32), who is still riding incredibly strongly, leading them all at the time of writing. Her pacing has been seemingly excellent, picking off riders all the way since CP1. Can she keep it up?

The rest of the pack is mainly strung out between CP2 and CP3 currently. It looks like there have been a couple more scratches overnight, but no information on the cause of these yet. I will be back with another update later today.

Rob

Good evening Dot Watchers. Well after the excitement of last night today has been relatively calm with riders across the map making steady progress along towards the finish line.

Let's start at the other end of the race tonight and the two beach party groups from last night have now merged into one big party at CP2. Some 17 riders are in or near CP2 tonight. Hopefully getting some good food and an early night as the road to CP3 is a long one with a lot of climbing on it. I suspect some early starts tomorrow. Speaking to a few of the riders on the road it's been tough out there today getting to CP2 with relentless gravel and hills, difficult resupply and some altitude to deal with.

At times there's been more than hills to deal with as some very interesting bridges have been found on route....

Ahead of CP2 it's been a hard day. Quite a few riders are collecting in or near Gisenyi, on the border with DRC. It's a large border town so plenty of options there for food and resupply. Riders there will be hoping to push on early to get to CP3 as soon as they can.

You definitely have to feel for Rodney, after illness deprived him of the chance to race hard, a mechanical has now forced him out altogether. His dot isn't showing as scratched yet so maybe he can find someone to MacGuyver a fix for him.

In the pairs race, Mona and Daniel have had a good day, extending their lead over Manu and Katrien to around 50km as we head into the night. It looks like they are targeting CP3 before stopping.

In the women's race, Violette has this all but sewn up baring a problem or an accident. Her lead is out to over 140km and she is still moving.

In the mens race it's as you were with not changes and the distances between riders extending as they've all made their way through Nyungwe National Park. Race leader, Elijus, has now reached CP4 and has between 6-8 hours to go to make it to the finish line back in Kigali. He could be back as early as 5am depending on how long he rests up in CP4. But with no pressure from the chasing riders he can afford to take his time.

One rider who does seem to be making moves is Miguel Veterano, one of the Dubai contingent, a steady start on day 1 in around 20th place, he's now accelerated through the field to 7th. Can he keep it going.

Rob will be back tomorrow morning, hopefully with no hangover, and news of a finish.

Good morning everyone, Rob is away celebrating his birthday today, Happy Birthday Rob, so I'm on commentating duties.

On a race as short as Race Around Rwanda, the first night is always crucial to the pointy end of the race. Who has the energy to keep going through, who needs rest. However, we got a bigger than expected shake up and the race picture looks very different this morning.

The biggest story overnight was the decision of Ulrich to scratch. He raced hard for 24 hours but felt the right decision was to put his health first after 4 days of illness prior to the start. A fast and furious 24 hours for him but he's now back in Kigali and judging from his instagram feed, getting rid of that road dirt.

Elijus has profited the most, riding hard through the night and is now nearing the end of Lake Kivu and the start of the long climb up to Nyungwe national park.

His lead over second place is now close to 40km. Nyungwe is a tough section of the course though with no resupply and the temperatures often much colder with rain and mist a possibility. Hot on his heels are the two Kenyans, Karaya and Geoffrey. Who also made good progress through the night.

Pawel took a sensible approach to day one, not getting sucked into the battle at the front, maybe strategic but I also hear from sources on the course that he struggled with the heat. Clearly the cooler temps overnight have helped as he has rapidly closed in on the podium and is just 8km behind Geoffrey having left CP3 not long ago.

The best story of the night though has to go to leading pair Mona and Daniel. As they came through the marshland area before the Twin Lakes they needed to find somewhere to sleep. Knocking on doors in a village, someone soon came to their rescue and rented them a room in their house. Bedding down they set their alarm for 1am and went to sleep. 1am, the alarm goes off and the pair make ready to leave. Only, the gate is locked and there is no way out. Banging and clattering, they try to get someones attention. Soon enough the owner comes out, but fearing for their safety (and questioning their sanity) in wanting to leave onto a dirt track at 1am, he refuses to unlock the gates. The only solution was to wait for the owner to go back to bed, then vault the fence next to the locked gate and make a break for freedom. They have now passed through CP2 and are through the volcano loop and on the next gravel section before the border town of Goma.

The pairs race is still wide open though with Manu and Katrien only 20km further back.

In the women's race Violette has a commanding lead, currently over 100km over the 2nd and 3rd place of Caroline and Charlotte. They are currently at CP2 getting some much needed food before heading out onto the Volcano loop.

Further back, all the talk was of the party groups. Two separate collections of riders appeared at a couple of resorts along side Lake Muhazi. Dawn sent me a message saying that whilst yesterday was a tough day with the heat, she was now in a bar so all was good. It hasn't held those groups up with everyone making good progress towards CP2 and well on track for finishing.

The weather gods continue to smile down, with no sign of the infamous Rwandan thunderstorms and mud. I'm sure the riders would like that to continue but I say let's spice things up a bit!

Okay Niel out, I'll be back later today with an end of day round up.

At 04:30 the riders rolled out into Kigali’s darkened streets and the Race Around Rwanda 2023 began. As you may have spotted from the photos on social media, drafting was permitted until sunrise, allowing the riders to get clear of Kigali in a large peloton.

Whilst this is a very sensible idea, especially when the first part of the race is paced by a police escort, sunrise can be a slightly ambiguous term, meaning that there was a little confusion about exactly when the cut-off was. Thankfully, the organisers were quick to give a few riders a nudge, much to the delight of dotwatching keyboard warriors everywhere.

Unsurprisingly, the pace from the start was furious. The stretch until CP1 combines rolling terrain, smooth tarmac and perfectly graded gravel, meaning it was always likely that fresh legs would tear through it. Recent road improvements meant this was even faster than previous years.

The lead group rolled into CP1 at around 10:00, dust painting their faces red and brown. This means they averaged around 27kmph over the first 176 kilometres. Rapid!

In a slight role reversal from the past few days, Ulrich Bartholmoes (#86) now appears to have recovered from his fever and has been riding at the front of the race all day, whereas Rodney Soncco (#70) is reportedly feeling under the weather and has been riding slightly off the lead group all day.

In the women’s race, Violette Neza (#32) quickly opened up a commanding lead, arriving at CP1 a full 90 minutes ahead of Charlotte Bush (12). Violette has held this pace and remains within sight of the overall top 10 as she closes in on CP2.

However, the second woman on the road is actually Mona Stockhecke (#3(1)), who arrived at CP1 just 30 minutes after Violette. But she is riding as a mixed pair with Daniel Meyes. Somewhat unsurprisingly, they are leading this category.

After CP1, the race started to splinter even more, with the arrival of proper hills and more varied surfaces. But this barely seemed to slow down the leaders, with Ulrich reaching CP2 just after sunset - an incredible time when you consider it’s 368km into the race!

He is apparently in full race mode now - all illness forgotten - and only stopped briefly to pick up some water and bananas. In contrast, the next riders in, Elijus Civilis (#77 - pictured) and Kenneth Karaya (#69), both chose to sacrifice some time and have a proper meal, undoubtedly aware of the challenges of resupplying through the night in Rwanda. They were swiftly followed by Geoffrey Langat (#62) and Manu Truccolo (#64).

These differences in approaches will surely see the field spread out even more over the next few hours, especially as we see some riders deciding to hunker down. But the state of play currently sees Ulrich sitting out in front with a small lead and heading towards Lake Kivu. A group of four riders (#77, #69, #62, #64) chase him, with another gap back from them.

Further back in the field, we saw our first signs of only in Rwanda shenanigans. A large group of riders were struggling to find accommodation and appear to have taken a boat across the river to reach a hotel on the opposite bank (at 230km). The hotel is apparently a fashionable party spot with young Rwandans, so they may be slightly shocked by the arrival of a gaggle of dust-smeared cyclists!

However, could the infamous Rwandan weather gods be about to throw a spanner in the works for the leaders? After reports of clouds gathering all day, we have just heard that distant lightning has been sighted around CP2. And that can only mean one thing. A storm is coming.

Rob