Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, has officially applied to host the 2025 UCI Road World Championships, organizers of the Tour de Rwanda announced this week.

If successful, Rwanda will be the first African country to host the world championships, which "will generate considerable public enthusiasm beyond Rwanda's borders," Tour de Rwanda organizers said in a press release.

"An official delegation from the Rwandan government submitted the application to UCI President David Lapartient at UCI headquarters in Aigle, Switzerland, on Wednesday, September 12.

The UCI announced last July that President Lapartiento had invited bids from African countries to host the 2025 World Championships, and La Gazzetta dello Sport reported last November that both Rwanda and Morocco had launched bids.

The Tour de Rwanda has been held since 1988 and has been part of the UCI Africa Tour since 2009, with WorldTour and Pro Continental teams such as Team Novo Nordisk, Israel Cycling Academy, and Direct Energie. This year's winner was Eritrean rider Melhawi Kudus of Astana.

More importantly, the race attracts large local crowds.

"After 11 years of hosting the Tour de Rwanda, Rwanda now hopes to mark a page in cycling history by becoming the first African country to host a world championship," the press release reads. [When such an event takes place in the streets of the capital city of Kigali, the country of Rwanda will become an example of success in all areas of the sport through its courage and conviction, and will arouse the enthusiasm of many people beyond its borders.

"Sport is the best evidence, and the hosting of the World Championships in 2025 would be a great message of hope for the entire African continent and for the great family of cycling, which has long focused on the internationalization of the sport.

Next year's championships will be held in the Swiss cantons of Vaud and Valais, while the 2021 World Championships will be held in the Flanders region of Belgium.

The UCI has also announced that the 2022 World Championships will return to Australia and will be held in Wollongong, New South Wales, that the 2023 World Championships will be held in Glasgow, Scotland, and that the 2024 World Championships will again be held in Switzerland and Zurich already announced.