The Field of Dreams

To coincide with the Tour de France in 2022, Israel - Premier Tech launched its most ambitious campaign to date; a fundraiser to build the ‘Field of Dreams’ bike center at the Community of Hope in Bugesera, Rwanda, as part of the team’s Racing For Change initiative. Inaugurated in February 2023, the Field of Dreams consists of a pump track and road circuit that has changed the lives of the Bugesera community and the wider Rwandan community. This center is dedicated to enriching the lives of thousands of youngsters, serving as an educational tool to develop their skills in cycling and beyond.

The Goal

The Field of Dreams bike center includes a pump track, road circuit, and future cycling academy built on 16 acres of land deep in the Bugesera district of Rwanda. The completed complex offers 120,000 students in the Bugesera district, between the ages of 6 and 18, the opportunity to take up biking and to develop their skills, thrive, and achieve success through cycling.

The cost of building the Field of Dreams race track and pump track was €300,000.

The Tour de France Kit

To celebrate the Field of Dreams campaign, Israel – Premier Tech raced with a new kit at the Tour de France in 2022.

The IPT Tour de France jersey, designed by Stijn Dossche (stycle.design), celebrated the colors of the rich soil and lush greenery that brightens the landscape of the ‘land of a thousand hills’, and features the Rwandan art form Imigongo as the hero of the jersey design.

The Next Step in Racing for Change

After adopting the only women's cycling team in Rwanda, Bugesera Cycling Team, last year, the impact of the first phase of the Racing for Change project was immediately felt as the women’s team progressed quickly under the supervision of IPT coaches and staff. The introduction of professional know-how, equipment, and training directly attributed to the inspiring story of Aline Uwera. 16-year-old Uwera became the first female Rwandan cyclist to finish on the podium of the African championships and was subsequently dubbed the “daughter of hope” by the media.

The Field of Dreams is the next step in transforming the lives of thousands of Rwandan youth.

An Engine of Change

The Field of Dreams bike center enjoyed the full support of Bugesera’s Mayor, Richard Mutabazi, whose district consists of 566 villages home to half a million residents, many of them connected by roads that would benefit from an increase in cycling infrastructure. These improvements are planned in the next stage of development at the Field of Dreams

Richard Mutabazi: "This unprecedented initiative promises to have a huge effect on the new generation of Bugesera and possibly all of Rwanda, well beyond cycling. We envision the infrastructure being built for this "Field of Dreams" will drive economic and social progress."

Our return in 2024

Having helped inaugurate the Field of Dreams in 2023, Chris Froome returned 12 months later to assess the impact it has had on the local community.

He said: “We didn’t just deliver the pump track and race track; the community has truly embraced them, ensuring they are put to good use. To see how the community has embraced it, how many kids are involved in the project, and how many coaches we’ve got coming here as well is amazing. There’s a whole ecosystem around it now.”