Nyandwi Uwase
Nickname: Mugoyi
Home town: West province, Gisenyi, Rwanda
D.O.B.: 10 August, 1983
Height: 169cm (5'6.5")
Weight: 65kg (143lbs)
Cycling stats: Nyandwi is sturdy and powerful; his first bike experience
was as a taxi-biker. In 1998 he started racing on a single speed. That
first year he won enough money to buy his first 10-speed, a 1980 Eddy
Merckx that he bought in the Congo.
Biography: Nyandwi is 25 years old and lives in Gisenyi near his family in a house that he rents with money he has earned through racing and membership on Team Rwanda. Nyandwi’s father is deceased and Nyandwi now acts as head of his family. In addition to his house, Nyandwi has been able to pay for his sisters to attend school with the money he earns through Team Rwanda. Nyandwi is father to a three-year-old daughter. Nyandwi has been a mentor and helped train Junior rider Innocent Sibomana.
Nyandwi’s Needs:
- Medical Insurance: $500/year
- Driver’s License: $300
- English Lessons: $480/yrea
- School for sisters: $240/year
- Portable camp shower: $30
- Small Laptop: $600
- Summer Sponsorship: $224
If you would like to help Nyandwi with his expenses please visit the Sponsor a Rider page:
Sponsor a Rider
Exerpt from The Philadelphia Inquirer
Dec. 7, 2007
Where he is now is a place Nyandwi Uwase never thought he'd be.
He started biking to support his mother and siblings after his father died, ferrying people around his hometown of Gisenyi, in western Rwanda, for roughly 7 cents a mile.
Uwase raced in his spare time, riding a 1985 Eddy Merckx model he bought for $100 in 2003. But he never expected to get far in the cycling world; a more realistic life goal was someday trading in his taxi bike for a motorized version.
These days, he talks not only of racing in the Tour de France and the Olympics - but of walking away a winner.
"Now, everything is possible," Uwase said, smiling. "With every race we get better and better. I think we can be the best in the world."
In Rwanda, he already is a star.
Everywhere he goes, children chant his name. And recently, he and his teammates were honored at a dinner with the president.
"He's like a hero to us," said Aim? Mutagoma, 26, a Uwase fan.
Uwase and his teammates are trying to give others the same opportunity. All are coaching other cyclists, passing down their equipment and Boyer's training tips.
Innocent Sibomana, 19, now has Uwase's old Eddy Merckx bike and high hopes. He's gunning for a place on the national team with his coach.
"I never thought the sport of cycling would go anywhere," Sibomana said. "Now everybody is interested in it."
