Rwanda is home to East Africa’s first professional female cyclist, Jeanne D’Arc Girubuntu, 23, who is changing the way the world looks at Rwanda and how Rwandans look at themselves.

Jeanne D’Arc's career is an almost meteoric rise. While she has been riding a single-speed bike to fetch water for her family since she was a little girl, her interest in professional cycling only emerged when she witnessed the Tour du Rwanda race passing through her hometown in 2009. "They are free," Jeanne D’Arc thought, “I want to be like them.”

Jeanne D’Arc started training at 17 and, within her first year, became a national champion and member of the national team. At 20, she was the first black African woman to compete in the World Championships in 2015.