RACE AROUND RWANDA - PART 2

The Race around Rwanda is a test to the body, the mind and the bike. One minute you are flying, the next you’re on the ground, wether it is from a sudden crash or because you have to fix a puncture, a derailleur or just to catch your breath. On paper, it might seem as a an ‘’entry level’’ endurance race, because there are enough checkpoints with food and drinks provided by the organization, no real hazardous sections or difficult gpx-routes and the climbing only exceeds the altitude of 2000 meters on a few climbs. But that’s on paper, this is the real race.

After the crash of Laurens

After having spent the night at Alphons' place, Laurens woke up a new man. The only thing that reminded him of the crash was a big blue egg on his jawbone, a stiff shoulder and a crooked wheel. No headaches, no nausea. Having scratched, he has now focussed his energy on his two remaining team mates, Thomas Dekker and Stefan Bolt. Camera-man Thijs Visser picked Laurens up from the village, where Alphons had dropped him that morning and together they made a plan for the next coming days.

Thomas keeps going

On Wednesday morning, Thomas had gotten out of a fairly hefty 48 hours in the jungle. The checkpoints were his safe haven, because his battery pack had suffered from an electrical incident. He was only using his Wahoo for the route, unable to respond to messages or calls in between the checkpoints. His tracker wasn’t working well too anymore, which explains the empty spots behind his name after CP2, CP3 and CP4. There must have been a few times, when he was thinking of scratching. Especially during the pouring rain. But at the checkpoints, he was fueled again, literally and emotionally. With his phone charging, the uplifting messages from his teammates and loved ones at home, made him continue. He was doing pretty well, riding around 7th place. Although the body was okay, this was a fight against the mind. ‘Why would you go on, you have done enough. Why suffer more, you can just stop it here and relax…’’ Luckily he could visualize himself finishing this brutal race and kept on going. If Laurens hadn’t made it, he sure as hell would! In the middle of the night, he arrived at CP4, after having helped fellow Dutch rider Nicole van Batenburg with her flatted tire in the dark. After a few hours of sleep, he finished Wednesday afternoon, proud and happy.

Photo by Yuhi The Great

Stefan digs deeper than ever

On Wednesday morning, Stefan gets the news that Laurens has scratched. Laurens has assured him, that he wil come and look for him to cheer him up and to lift up his spirits. Stefan, who’s goal it was to do an ultra by himself and not as a duo, had been having physical difficulties from day one. The first thing he sent Laurens was the remark: how on earth did you manage to do this for three weeks (referring to Tour Divide)? Stefan is a social rider, he knows what his body can do, what his limitations are, but really wanted to find out if he could stretch those limits. And boy, he did. When the climbing started, the speed dropped significantly and the first crack in the schedule started to show. It was at this point, the crew was beginning to wander if he would make it in time for the plane. On paper, it seemed okay to book a flight back to Holland on Thursday evening. Well, in reality, it was going to be tight, to say the least.

Stefan continued and stayed strong, not knowing if it would be enough, but he was certainly not planning on scratching. They were going to have to pull him off the bike on Thursday, to be on time. He showed his disappointment in the voice apps he sent the team on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, knowing he probably wouldn’t make it. The stupid thing was, he wasn’t doing that bad, looking at this position, which was around 40th place. But it was not going to be fast enough.

Photo by James Busby

The relief of a phone call

This was just too much to bear. You take the whole team on an endurance race, you’ve spent hours and hours of training, you are pushing the limits of your body and mind, but for what? For having to quit the race, because you’ve made an wrong call a few months ago, when you booked the flight? This was too much for Laurens and he decided to check with KLM if they could rebook their flights two days later. Yes, it did cost them. Yes, the families at home had to change plans for the weekend. But this trip needed to end on a good note.The smile and the relief of Stefan, when hearing the news, was unforgettable. It was still going to be an extreme effort, but at least he had the time now to get some rest and finish this thing.On Thursday evening, he crossed the finish line at place 38. 

Photo by James Busby

New plan, another chance?

Thomas was waiting at the finish to cheer for Stefan. Laurens would have accompanied him, but the sudden change of plans he had initiated on Wednesday, made him question his own unfinished race later that day. He calculated the chances of getting a new wheel for his bike, being brought back to the point where he crashed out off the gravel race and finishing the remaining 130 kilometers. He’d had no headaches after the crash, so there would be no safety concerns. What popped up as a funny idea, turned into reality the next morning. Before anybody knew it, except for the organization who had to be informed, Laurens’ dot was moving again on Thursday morning. He finished the race at the end of that day, around 23.00 h. His reaction? ‘’I’ve never not finished something in my life, if I had the opportunity and I was not planning on doing so this time.’’

Photo by Yuhi The Great

Time for reflection

The next day, after a good night’s sleep, Laurens and Stefan recorded a podcast about the race. During their time on the bike, the situation at the border with Congo had aggravated. The news was now speaking of new deaths of soldiers and civilians on the other side. Life in the rest of Rwanda seemed to not be affected by this. Nobody was surprised, there had always been a ‘situation’ at the border. Cycling unions on the other hand were expressing their concerns about the safety of riders around the World Championship in Rwanda later that year, but these thoughts were woven away by the UCI, although they admitted to keep an eye on this part of the country.

For Team LSRF, who had been focussed completely on this gravel race and the wonderful people they met, being there had turned into something that needed to be defended all of the sudden. There was not an easy answer to questions like: why are you guys still riding bikes there? On one hand you have this serious ongoing political problem that involves, gold, money and dictatorship and on the other hand you have the people of Rwanda, leading their day-to-day life, with high hopes for their sons and daughters. Just like anywhere else, they just want their kids to get good education so they can have a bright future. They are proud of their country and they want to show you their hospitality.

Photo by Right to Play

On Saturday, before heading to the airport, the team paid a visit to the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre. The 1994 genocide of the Tutsi is commemorated at this place, a cruel part of Rwanda's history. The remains of over 250.000 people are interred here and is a horrible reminder of what people are capable of doing to each other. This trip has not only been an individual challenge, but it has certainly been an eye-opener to the difficulties of a poor country that is being rebuild, the ghosts of its past and the way we look at all this with our Western European glasses on. But the one thing this team will remember for sure after this race, is the amazing hospitality and kindness. 

Photo credits featured image: Manu Cattryse