KIGALI, June 13 (Xinhua) -- The Rwanda Cycling Federation Wednesday released the roadmap for the 2018 Tour of Rwanda road cycling competition slated for August.
The total of 16 teams from across the world have been selected to take part in the 10th edition. Among them are Algerians of the UCI Continental Team, Groupement Sportif Petrolier, Angolans of Bai Sicasal, Americans of Marc Pro Gym One, Germans of Team Embrace the World, and two Rwandan teams.
According to the roadmap, the cycling event will run from August 5 to 12, with eight stages covering a distance of 948.6 kilometers.
This road race promises to be exceptional in a way, the federation said in a press briefing in Kigali, capital city of Rwanda.
One of the new elements is that the race will not start from the capital Kigali for the first time since its creation in 2009 but from Rwamagana district in eastern Rwanda, said the federation.
There will also be no prologue individual time trial for the first time since 2012, it said.
This year's edition will also have the longest stage in the history of the stage 3, with a record distance of 195.3 kilometers, according to the federation.
Team South Africa rider Joseph Areruya won the road cycling race Tour of Rwanda 2017.
The Rwandan claimed his first Tour of Rwanda title with 40 points in a time of 20:21:29 covering a total distance of 819 kilometers.