Radio Russia: stories in the margins of the World Cup

KIGALI - In the run-up to the first world cycling championship on African soil, Aaron Lapeirre travels to Rwanda to document the route.

ASMARA - Biniam Girmay, a 17-year-old promising cyclist from the African country of Eritrea, dreams of one day riding the Tour de France, the world's most prestigious Grand Tour.

NAIROBI - For decades Kenya has been a purveyor of Olympic medals in distance running, and it will continue to be so at the Paris Games, but for the past decade or so it has also been clear that there is a strong smell of doping attached to the medals. Athletics is one of the most important economic sectors in Kenya and where there is money, there is cheating.