{"id":55774,"date":"2025-09-28T09:38:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-28T09:38:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/uci-awards-president-kagame-highest-cycling-distinction\/"},"modified":"2025-09-29T18:13:21","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T18:13:21","slug":"uci-awards-president-kagame-highest-cycling-distinction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/uci-awards-president-kagame-highest-cycling-distinction\/","title":{"rendered":"UCI awards President Kagame highest cycling distinction"},"content":{"rendered":"

Speaking at the event, Lappartient praised Rwanda for staging a championship that \u201ctook our breath away,\u201d describing it as an unforgettable milestone for the global cycling community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cycling family has fallen in love with your country, Your Excellency, Rwanda, this week,\u201d he said. \u201cIn love with its countryside, in love with its people, in love with its beauty, in love with its vitality. These UCI World Championships are not over, but we can already declare them an immense success.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UCI President also noted the groundbreaking nature of the Kigali edition, highlighting that it was the first time the Road World Championships were held on the African continent, and the first time women in the under-23 category had their own dedicated races. <\/p>\n

\u201cQuite simply, we have never experienced an event like this before,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a gesture of appreciation, Lappartient presented President Kagame with a framed rainbow jersey, the same awarded to world champions during the week, along with the UCI Order medal. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the highest distinction awarded to people who make an outstanding impact on the sport of cycling,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will leave Rwanda with unforgettable memories, and we sincerely hope that you will also have unforgettable memories of the UCI World Championships.\u201d<\/p>\n

For his part, President Kagame welcomed guests, including His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco, senior officials, and the wider cycling family. <\/p>\n

He congratulated Lappartient on his recent election and thanked him for the honour bestowed upon him. \u201cSo, for me, I won\u2019t necessarily have to participate in the competition. I have more or less already won,\u201d Kagame joked, drawing applause.<\/p>\n

The President emphasised the power of sport to unite and inspire, particularly among Africa\u2019s youth. \u201cThe chants, the crowds, and the smiles are a true testament to the unifying power of sports,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor our young and talented people, this is an inspiration for them to follow their own dreams with a spirit of sacrifice and endurance, like true champions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kagame added that investing in sport on the continent is part of investing in Africa\u2019s future. \u201cIt all comes down to giving everyone a fair chance, not out of sympathy, but because everyone has something good to give back and because the sport is stronger for it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The evening closed on a celebratory note, with both leaders commending the tireless work of organisers, volunteers, and the Rwandan Cycling Federation in delivering what has already been hailed as one of the most memorable championships in UCI history.<\/p>\n

The UCI Road World Championships conclude on Sunday with the highly anticipated men\u2019s elite road race, bringing together some of the world\u2019s best talent after an unforgettable week in sporting history.<\/p>\n

\"UCI<\/figure>\n
\"The<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
\"Lappartient<\/figure>\n
\"<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) capped a historic week in Kigali with a gala dinner on Saturday evening, where UCI President David Lappartient presented President Paul Kagame with the federation\u2019s highest honour, the UCI Order, in recognition of his contribution to cycling and the successful hosting of the 2025 Road World Championships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":131,"featured_media":2000095283,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[75],"byline":[192],"hashtag":[],"class_list":["post-55774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-homenews","byline-wycliffe-nyamasege"],"bylines":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"contributors":[{"id":192,"name":"Wycliffe Nyamasege","slug":"wycliffe-nyamasege","description":"","image":{"id":0,"url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&f=y&r=g","alt":"Default avatar","title":"Default avatar","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","sizes":[]},"user_id":131}],"featured_image":{"id":2000095283,"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g14ermvwkaeptyklogo.jpg","alt":"","caption":"","mime_type":"image\/jpeg","width":0,"height":0,"sizes":{"thumbnail":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g14ermvwkaeptyklogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g14ermvwkaeptyklogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"medium_large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g14ermvwkaeptyklogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"large":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g14ermvwkaeptyklogo.jpg","width":1,"height":1},"full":{"url":"https:\/\/en-images.igihe.com\/IMG\/logo\/g14ermvwkaeptyklogo.jpg","width":0,"height":0}}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/131"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55774\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2000095283"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55774"},{"taxonomy":"byline","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/byline?post=55774"},{"taxonomy":"hashtag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.igihe.com\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/hashtag?post=55774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}