The 194th Congress of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) convened this week in Kigali, Rwanda, coinciding with the 2025 UCI Road World Championships — the first time the global cycling event has been staged on the African continent. Delegates from 115 national federations gathered for the annual congress, marking a pivotal moment both for the sport and for Africa’s growing presence within international cycling governance.
Opening the proceedings, Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame extended a welcome to cyclists, fans, and officials from across the globe, emphasising cycling’s longstanding role within African societies. He highlighted that bicycles have served as an essential means of mobility and livelihood across the continent, while also becoming a growing medium for competitive sport.
Earlier this year, Rwanda inaugurated three UCI satellite centres aimed at providing African riders with greater access to training, coaching, and development opportunities previously concentrated in Europe. Kagame noted that such initiatives reflect a wider commitment to levelling the playing field in international sport and fostering pathways for young athletes in Africa, one of the world’s most youthful regions.
The UCI President David Lappartient praised Rwanda’s organisation of the championships and commended the country’s efforts to embed cycling within broader national and continental development frameworks. He underlined that the federation’s role extends beyond elite competition, shaping the future of cycling through inclusivity, accessibility, and investment in regions where the sport has historically been underrepresented.
The congress provides UCI members with the platform to deliberate on strategic developments, review regulations, and hold elections for the presidency and the Management Committee. This year’s gathering has been noted as particularly significant given Africa’s hosting of the World Championships, signalling a deeper recognition of the continent’s contribution to global sport.
For Rwanda, the championships and the congress serve as both a celebration of cycling and a demonstration of the country’s capacity to convene international sporting events. More broadly, they reflect a shift towards a more multipolar sporting landscape, where African nations are positioned not merely as participants but as hosts, innovators, and central actors in shaping the trajectory of global disciplines such as cycling.
