Out of Africa and ready to roll on Le Tour

Rwandan cyclist Adrien Niyonshuti of the South African MTN-Qhubeka team gets ready for a training ride on the Spanish island of Mallorca January 24, 2015. REUTERS/Enrique Calvo

LONDON (Reuters) - The cut-throat world of professional cycling has produced its fair share of villains and is still saddled with cynicism but even its harshest critics may struggle to sneer when Doug Ryder says "Bicycles Change Lives".

That is the catchphrase of Qhubeka, a project close to the heart of the 42-year-old Ryder, which has handed out 50,000 bikes in rural South Africa and Rwanda as a reward for community work such as growing trees or academic achievement.