Today they head back to Africa, and eventually their native Rwanda, to take part in a series of cycling events with the hope of placing well and perhaps qualifying for the Summer Olympic Games next year. They would be the first team to represent Rwanda in cycling.

But the scope of their mission is much more than giving their fellow countrymen someone to root for - the economic future of the nation may be riding on their success as well.

"Team Rwanda" is the brainchild of several minds, notably Tom Ritchey, the Palo Alto-based architect of the modern mountain bike, and Jonathan "Jock" Boyer, the decorated international cyclist best known for being the first American to compete in the Tour de France.

Boyer, a Carmel resident whose bicycle shop is based out of a warehouse near the Marina Municipal Airport, has packed a year's worth of training into about 60 days, with the five-man team taking part in 20 races throughout the western United States in their time here.

"They're as ready as they could be," Boyer said. "They couldn't be in better shape."

Team Rwanda, the country's first national cycling team, has developed a strong local following since Boyer traveled to Rwanda last year to hand-pick the best riders he could find. That fan base has accelerated what has mostly been a grass-roots effort: Boyer said his team has gotten sponsorship and in-kind support ranging from bicycles and equipment to free dental and medical care for the athletes.

Team members have acquired more supporters with each race: Events in New Mexico and Oregon have raised their profile on the national cycling scene, and an independent film company is documenting their journey.

"I'm very proud to represent my country," Niyonshuti said in French. "But I would not be able to represent my country without this support."

On a soul-searching mission

In Rwanda, the team will compete in the Tour du Rwanda and the Wooden Bike Classic, a race created last year as the culmination of efforts led by Ritchey to draw more attention to bicycling Rwanda.

A personal soul-searching mission in December 2005 landed Ritchey in Rwanda, where he fell in love with the beleaguered country's natural beauty and its ingenuity - the wooden push bikes Rwandans had built to transport coffee, the nation's prime cash crop.

"I started thinking about what kind of life they might have with a quality bike," Ritchey said.

Ritchey and his associates, while on a tour through the country's challenging mountain biking terrain, began forming ideas about how the bicycle could engineer economic change there.

The ideas poured out - establishing a bicycle factory, developing a steel-frame cargo-carrying bicycle to replace the wooden bikes, starting a bike-based tourism company - and "Project Rwanda" was born.

Ritchey then brought over Boyer to tour the country and enlist his help in training a Rwandan cycling team to compete with African cyclists and eventually vie for a spot in the Olympics.

Part of the purpose of forming Team Rwanda is to raise the country's awareness of how a bicycle culture could boost both its national unity and economy by improving coffee transportation and becoming an international tourism destination for cycling enthusiasts.

Another purpose, Ritchey said, is to get in on the ground floor of Rwanda's industrial development, promoting the bicycle as a primary means of transportation and, he hopes, keeping at bay widespread use of automobiles and the pollution they bring.

The cycling team gives Rwanda much-needed positive exposure, Ritchey said. The country is still recovering from genocidal turmoil in 1994, when at least 500,000 people were killed in civil war.

"Rwandans are embarrassed and painfully aware of what happened in their country. They need healing from it," he said. "Project Rwanda is about second chances. These (cyclists) are the ambassadors."

Niyonshuti said much of the Rwandan public - and even some of his family members - don't fully understand the broader significance of what his success could mean for the country, but feels he has their unconditional support nonetheless.

"They just know there's this team that has gone to America and is competing for them," he said.

'An awesome group'

Boyer acknowledged the team's near-term success is far from assured - this is the riders' first exposure to team cycling, where formation and strategy are just as important as personal endurance - so the first races will give him a chance to assess how his team stacks up against other African competitors.

He is confident, however, that he's made Rwanda's best cyclists even better.

"They have very little (organized) experience, even though they've been riding for years," Boyer said. "But they're much stronger than other riders in Rwanda."

Beyond the athletic training, team members have tried to absorb as much on their U.S. visit as possible. They've had a series of first experiences, ranging from horseback riding to experiencing snow.

"I've learned many things," said De Dieu Uwimana, the team captain. "I will tell my friends (about) the things I've seen in America."

That attitude will be a key component of Project Rwanda's long-term vision, Boyer said.

He wants Team Rwanda to be the inaugural teachers of a cycling school the project hopes to establish, so the country can consistently field a team of Olympic-caliber cyclists.

"It's a fulfilling experience," Boyer said. "They're hungry for information and things to learn. They're definitely an awesome group of young men to work with."

WHAT'S NEXT

• JUNE 29-JULY 1: International Cycling Union (UCI) World "B" Championships in Cape Town, South Africa.
• JULY 14-15: All-Africa Games in Algiers, Algeria.
• JULY 28-29: African Championships, mountain bike qualifier for Olympics, Windhoek, Namibia.
• AUG. 6-15: Tour of Rwanda.
• SEPT. 8-9: Wooden Bike Classic in Butare, Rwanda.