As he wins second Tour de Rwanda title

9th Tour de Rwanda
1. A.Niyonshuti        29:07:52   - (Frw 300,000)
2. N. Byukusenge     29:18:30   - (Frw 250,000)
3. G. Gahemba         29:19:06   -  (Frw 200,000)
4. O. Ruvogera         29:24:36   - (Frw 150,000)
5. A. Ruhumuriza     29:30:11   - (Frw 100,000)

Team’s ranking
1. Team Rwanda A    (Frw 2m)
2. Team Rwanda B    (Frw 1.2m)
3. Kenya                    (Frw 0.5m)

Adrien Niyonshuti recorded his second Tour de Rwanda title yesterday after winning this year’s edition.

Even after being piped in the final stage by Kenya’s Anthony Mwite and defending champion Abraham Ruhumuriza, the Team Rwanda A rider who used 29 hours, seven minutes and 52 seconds for the entire race was way ahead of the chasing pack that was left wrestling for second place.

It is his second accolade following the 2006 title and the 21-year-old has attributed the win to God.

"There was no way I could do it without God. I didn’t expect it to be so smooth. I never got any mechanical complications throughout the race,” he said.

"I’m very happy for the win. It means a lot to me and justifies the hard work I have put into racing,” he added before thanking his team A compatriots and team coach Jonathan Boyer for giving him all the support that he needed prior and during the race.

The ride was largely ceremonial for Niyonshuti, who all but assured himself victory a day earlier by holding off Ruhumuriza in the seventh stage (Kigali-Nyagatare).

It was his sixth stage win of the tour which covered a total distance of 1072 km.

After claiming the 177-kilometer ride into Kigali on the final day (yesterday), Mwite (Kenya) became the first foreign rider to win a stage in this year’s race.

The win also handed the Kenyan team their first stage victory.

Niyonshuti finished the final stage a few micro seconds behind the sprinting pack, thus ending the nine-day event 11 minutes and 22 seconds ahead of Nathan Byukusenge who finished second in the over-all ranking.

In third place was sensational youngster Godfrey Gahemba, a rider for Team Rwanda B, who finished 12 minutes behind Niyonshuti.

However, it was a disappointing show for Ruhumuriza who finished fifth (29:30:11).

On top of dominating the individual category, Rwanda still topped the team rankings after claiming the top two slots.

Team Rwanda A topped the rankings, Team Rwanda B came second, Kenya finished third while Uganda, Tanzania and Burundi followed in that order.

Ends