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Kagimu made best decision in Paris, says ex-international Matovu
Kagimu racing during the 273km road race in Paris, where he finished 77th out of 90 riders. PHOTO/COURTESY
What you need to know:
Matovu was the poster boy of cycling in the mid-2000s and despite missing the Olympics, he knows what it means to compete against a field of professionals on one’s biggest international stage.
David Matovu, Uganda’s former international cyclist could not ask for more of Charles Kagimu, who finished 77th in the Road Race at the Paris 2024 Olympics on August 3.
Matovu was the poster boy of cycling in the mid-2000s and despite missing the Olympics, he knows what it means to compete against a field of professionals on one’s biggest international stage.
Belgian Remco Evenepoel won the grueling 273km race in 6:19:34 hours and the next 31 minutes separated him from Kagimu, who was the last to cross the tape, in a race 13 riders did not finish.
“We’re proud of him. He did exactly what he was supposed to do—to break away early, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to catch up with very experienced international riders, many of whom are regulars at the Tour de France,” said Matovu who did not finish the 166km road race at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia but he and namesake David Magezi finished 61st and 64th respectively among 69 riders in the Time Trial.
In Paris, Kagimu spent a long spell with the leading pack of five, sometimes stretching into third place, with his white jersey—decorated with Uganda's black, yellow and red on the sleeves and on the front—setting him apart. But his limelight faded with about 81km to go, as the chasing packs eventually outpaced him.
“I made it in the breakaway straight from the start and that was something really cool to do for me and almost 7hrs later from the start,” Kagimu posted two days later on X, formerly Twitter.
Matovu agrees: “That was good for him because during that hour, the commentators were talking about him, his records, and Uganda.”
Kagimu, Uganda’s first cyclist at the Olympics since Los Angeles 1984, was also the first to finish his race. He was a lone wolf, with no one to count on for team tactics. “I salute him for whatever he did and finishing the race. And he could have earned recognition from other teams and sponsors,” Matovu, a former multiple national champion, said of Kagimu who is attached to Kenya Riders Cycling Club and INEOS Kipchoge Cycling Academy.
“He didn’t have to win a medal. There’s improvement from at the African Games (in Accra, Ghana). And I believe he’s got more confidence ahead of the World Championship (in Rwanda 2025).”
Matovu thinks Kagimu’s time of 6:50:49 hours could be the qualifying mark for the next Olympics. But shall Kagimu return to the next Olympics? “I think he is now in a better place. Without hard work and seizing every opportunity, he wouldn’t have made it to Paris, because our government doesn’t support the process.”
Kagimu’s story resembles that of Matovu’s son Jordan Ssekanwagi, currently in USA for gravel bike championships with Team Amani—a crew of the best riders from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia, who compete in the biggest gravel races on the planet and showcase their potential “when the hurdles of material and access to racing are removed.”
Matovu wished more Ugandans got such opportunities. “Otherwise you can’t go for such races without good sponsorship.”
KAGIMU OVER THE YEARS
ROAD RACES
2017: 10th, Tour of Quanzhou Bay
2021: 6th, Time trial, African Championships
2022: 1st, Eddie Njoroge Memorial
2023: African Championships
1st, Time trial
7th Road race
1st Great Rift Valley Challenge
2024
African Games
1st, Time trial
6th, Road race
GRAVEL
2023
8th Belgian Waffle Ride North Carolina
