RACE AROUND RWANDA - PART 1

In the summer of 2024, LSRF came in contact with Simon De Schutter, one of the organizers of Race around Rwanda. He was looking for riders to participate in next year’s event, an ultra gravel race of 1000 kilometers. The team was in for it immediately, looking for an exciting race on unknown soil. This would be a personal challenge for every member. Laurens being the one aiming to win the race, Stefan wanting to do an ultra on his own instead of as a duo, and Thomas longing for goals that will get the best out of him.
The Race around Rwanda starts in February and it would be the kick off of a busy cycling year for this country, as it will also host the World Cycling Road Championships later that year in October. For the team LSRF, participating in this race will be a great way of seeing the country, getting to know the culture, the people and the roads.

Exploring Kigali 

To get used to the altitude of 1500 meters, the team arrived in Kigali two days prior to the race. These days were well spent, with some exploration of the area around the capital, a taste of the red gravel roads and a visit to a coffee plantation. Rwanda’s biggest export produce has always been coffee and the country has shown a fierce rise in producing quality and specialty coffee, since it has slowly recovered from its bloody past of civilian tribe wars. On the night before the race, there was a fun gathering of all the athletes with a pasta party. About 100 cyclists are going to compete in this race, mostly individual, but there are also duo’s.

A fierce competition

The Race around Rwanda is open to anybody looking for an adventure. Some are well-known in the gravel world, others are new to the game. The best thing is, on a course like this, you will need not only strength, but also mechanical skills and most of all, you will need a real strong will.

Ted King, gravel frenemy and multiple winner of Dirty Kanza, will not just give up the win that easily. He is a strong and fast rider and knows how to deal with fatigue and sleep deprivation.
Kenneth Karaya, who just turned 29, is a gravel specialist from Kenya, with experience in the Migration Gravel Race and the Traka, and he is young and eager to show the public his skills.
Tomas Rongen, a fellow Dutchman from Maasland Cycling, has become an ultra enthousiast not too long ago and has really found his dream lifestyle. He has been in Rwanda for three months, enjoying the rides and raising money for the Red Cross. He may be new to the game, but he knows what he can do.
Vincent Chege is also from Kenya and is the winner of the 2024 edition of Race around Rwanda, which he covered in 68 hours and only 2,5 hours of sleep. Now that is impressive and scary at the same time.|
With Jelle Hanseeuw, a former pro cyclist from Belgium and gravel fan, the biggest threats now have a name. But with a race like this, anything can happen.

No time to waste

Right from the start at 5.00 am, it has been a fast race. No unnecessary stops, no laughing on camera, no sightseeing. The first 360 kilometers were flying by, with little to no contact with the team riders. Five men were setting the pace, Kenneth, Ted, Laurens, Vincent and Jelle and they were really making tempo here. At checkpoint 1, Ted, Jelle and Laurens almost dropped in at the same time, but in close range of Kenneth and Tomas. Vincent Chege somehow missed that first CP, which was located at a detour of 200 meters, and was given a small penalty time for that mistake.

Most of these riders were going to continue to CP2 without resting, knowing that there would be a good hotel bed waiting. Ted, Laurens and Jelle came in at CP2 in quick succession and found their beds for a few hours of sleep. Kenneth however, took the risk and continued the race, hoping to take advantage of the situation. He complained about a severe back pain, but continued nevertheless.

Unfortunate decision

Around km 700, there was a sudden change of the race, although not a happy one. Leader of the race, Kenneth Karaya, suddenly no longer appeared on the map, but got listed as a DNF. The organization quickly informed via Instagram that he was doing okay and was in good hands, but details were going to be shared later. It appeared that Kenneth has profited from either staying close behind a motor or even hold on to a motorcyclist. The organization has had the difficult task of removing him from the race. This event shines a new light on the battle between Ted, Laurens and Tomas, who has seriously closed in on Laurens. Somewhere around KM 705, uphill, Tomas has overtaken a sleeping Laurens, who has ‘set up camp’ next to the road. At the beginning of the climb, he had bought his dinner in a small store, which consisted of some bananas, bread and a few cake rolls.

Laurens crashes out of the race

For those who went to bed early, the news the next morning is a tough one. Laurens had gotten on his bike again after an hour of rest but has crashed his front wheel a few kilometers later, at the transition of a gravel road to asphalt. He went over the handlebars and hit his jawbone. Apparently he has hit his head pretty hard, because he didn’t recall the first few seconds after the crash. His front wheel’s all crooked and all the milk has flushed out. He tried to continue the race, but after his wheel punctured again within a few 100 meters, he made the decision to step out. The wheel needed full replacement, which, at this point on the course, was fairly impossible. Also, the fact that he had hit his head fairly hard, made him question if continuing was a wise decision. Lucky he did, because in the end, a safe journey is what is most important. He gets picked up by a friendly guy named Alfons, who brought him to the nearest hotel. Unfortunately, it is 2.00 am by then and this hotel is closed. He offered Laurens to take him home to rest there. In his humble apartment, he made Laurens a warm meal with sardines, omelet, unions and tomatoes. All of his clothes were washed. A real act of kindness. The next morning, Laurens was taken on a motorbike to the nearest town, where he waited to be picked up by Thijs, the LSRF cameraman.

TED = KING OF THE PODIUM

Ted King has been showing his strength from the start and did not seem to crack once, despite several attempts by Laurens. Not only did he keep up the pace, he barely rested. After only three hours at CP4, he left again and finished around noon on Tuesday, with Tomas Rongen at a decent distance of 100 kilometers. With an amazing finishing time of just under 58 hours, he is the fastest man in this race ever. Amazing effort.
Not too lang after Tomas had overtaken Laurens, he himself suffered from a broken derailleur and, although at a safe distance of number three, this situation needed to be fixed asap. Another Dutchman by the name of Dion Gerrits has put himself in the spotlight, whilst nobody was looking. He had some trouble with his tracker in the beginning of the race, so his name didn’t pop up on the lists. He was given a spare one from the organization. He also suffered about 8 punctures, but never gave up. That’s what ultra cycling is all about! Tomas Rongen finished second on Tuesday evening and Dion crossed the finish line later that night. Well done, men.

Photo Ted King

How are Thomas and Stefan doing?

Fellow LSRF team members Thomas and Stefan were having a hard time, especially on the climbs. Thomas has had an incident with his battery charger and was saving his phone battery to continue his route. He found a replacement for it in the next village, but it had been a very depressing and rough time for him on the endless track without any communication. The pouring rain made him almost scratch a few times.

Stefan was still doing okay mentally, but physically, he was having a hard time finding his rhythm. His back was hurting a lot and he was having a lot of trouble with the altitude. Especially on the heavy climbs, his body was protesting hard. He could not get on the bike anymore and had to walk, which obviously took so much more time. Voice apps and texts from the team members were sent to encourage him to keep going. The thing is, the team’s plane back to Holland leaves on Thursday evening, and his race might become a race against the clock…but Laurens has a plan.

Read all about the rest of the story in part 2, coming next week!