Rwandan cyclists Martha Ntakirutimana, Charlotte Iragena and Banzi Buhari returned residence with medals and renewed confidence after spectacular performances on the Grand Prix Worldwide VTT Chantal Biya mountain bike race in Cameroon.
The trio, accompanied by nationwide group coach Nathan Byukusenge, represented Rwanda on the third version of the competitors, held below the patronage of Cameroon’s First Girl, Chantal Biya.
Their performances earned Rwanda three podium finishes on the occasion, which attracted 90 cyclists from 15 nations.
The competitors featured elite males’s and girls’s classes contested over an 11.3-kilometre course within the Bagofit space.
Within the elite girls’s class, Ntakirutimana delivered a dominant efficiency to assert the gold medal, whereas Iragena completed second to finish a memorable one-two end for Workforce Rwanda.
Buhari added a 3rd medal for Rwanda after ending third within the elite males’s race to safe bronze.
Talking after her victory, Ntakirutimana described the gold medal as one of many proudest achievements of her profession.
“I’m extraordinarily blissful to win this gold medal for Rwanda. The competitors was very sturdy, however I remained targeted and trusted the coaching we had executed earlier than coming to Cameroon. This victory offers me confidence and motivation to proceed working onerous as a result of I consider larger achievements are nonetheless forward of me,” she mentioned.
Iragena mentioned sharing the rostrum together with her teammate made the achievement much more particular.
“It feels wonderful to win a medal at a world competitors. Ending on the rostrum along with Martha reveals the progress we’re making as athletes and as a group. This success encourages me to maintain pushing and aiming for even higher leads to future races,” she mentioned.
Workforce Rwanda coach Byukusenge mentioned the riders’ success in Cameroon demonstrated the rising power of Rwandan biking and will encourage extra younger folks to take up the game.
“Such outcomes present that Rwandan riders can compete and excel on the worldwide stage. We hope these achievements will encourage extra younger folks to take up the game and dream of representing their nation someday.”
