As the season-long calendars packed with the biggest races in the world, it’s no surprise that the men’s WorldTour and Women’s WorldTour capture the majority of attention through the year – from riders, teams, and fans alike.
But, of course, cycling is about much more than the top divisions of races in the men’s and women’s calendars, even if those races bring in the most attention and money.
For our first race on the list, we visit Africa and head back to the nation which hosted the most recent edition of the Road World Championships, the first to be held on the continent.
Next year will bring the 17th running of the Tour du Rwanda, a race which counts Eritrean boundary breaker Daniel Teklehaimanot, rising star Joseph Blackmore, and reigning champion Fabien Doubey on its honour roll.
It’s a race known for its hills – 14,600 metres of elevation at the 2025 edition was equal to Paris-Nice – and its fervent fans, with spectators packing the roadsides to an extent not seen in many European races.
Recent years have brought more top-level involvement in the race, with teams including XDS-Astana, Israel-Premier Tech, Q36.5, Bardiani CSF, TotalEnergies and various WorldTour development squads.
Will 2026 bring more attention to the eight-day stage race? It’s hard to tell, but with the Rwandan Cycling Federation (RCF) hoping to host a WorldTour race in 2027 and the Worlds having brought more attention to the nation, the RCF may be hoping to lure more teams over next March.
Last year’s edition saw TotalEnergies teammates Joris Delbove and Fabien Doubey trade the race lead, with the latter eventually triumphing after the final stage was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions.
Elsewhere, young talents Aldo Taillieu, Brady Gilmore, and Duarte Marivoet scored wins. There was also African success as Eritreans Henok Mulubrhan and Nahom Zeray won stages,…
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