KIGALI, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Tour of Rwanda international cycling competition kicked off Sunday at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, the capital city of Rwanda.
This is the inaugural competition since Tour of Rwanda was upgraded to 2.1 category race of the International Cycling Union (UCI) from 2.2 category.
This year's race draws 16 teams composing 78 riders. They will cover a distance of 959.1 kilometers in eight stages until March 3.
The first stage covers a 112.5-kilometer round trip from Kigali to Rwamagana district in eastern Rwanda.
The stage three, which is the longest, will cover a distance of 213.1 kilometers from Huye district in southern Rwanda to Rubavu district in the west.
The last stage of 63.7kms will involve climbs of what is dubbed Wall of Kigali before heading to the finish line at Kigali regional stadium in Nyamirambo, Kigali's suburb.
Prominent participating teams include Team Novo Nordisk from the U.S., Israel Cycling Academy, France's Delko Marseille, and Direct Energie, also from France.
Rwanda's Samuel Mugisha won the 10th edition of the 2018 Tour of Rwanda international road cycling competition after covering a distance of 948.6 kilometers with a total time of 24 hours 26 minutes and 53 seconds.
