Selected results

Perez Mancebo 4:25:56 Sky Dive DubaiValens Ndayisenga 4:52:30 Team RwandaBonaventure Uwizeyimana 4:52:38 Team RwandaJanvier Hadi 5:05:57 Team Rwanda

Team Rwanda cycling team has been stunned following a disappointing performance in Stage 1 on Thursday from Al Gouna to Ras Hgareb at the ongoing Tour of Egypt in Hurghada.

After a victorious start on Wednesday with Valens Ndayisenga winning the prologue stage and Janvier Hadi finishing third, Team Rwanda’s best performer yesterday was Ndayisenga who finished 21st, 15 minutes and 38 seconds behind the winner Perez Mancebo from Sky Dive Dubai who clocked 4:36:52.

Bonaventure Uwizeyimana clocked 4:52:38 in 24th position while fellow country-mate Janvier Hadi was 39th after posting 5:05:57.

"Today’s race was extremely difficult. We were completely overwhelmed by the wind. It was nothing close to what we are familiar with in Rwanda. It is flat and we are used to the hilly terrain back home,” team Rwanda coach Felix Sempoma said.

Sempoma admitted that it is impossible to catch up with Sky Dive Dubai in the remaining three stages because 15 minutes is a very big difference in cycling and he pointed out that the Dubai-based side boasts of professional riders who dominated stage 1, bagging 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th positions.

Mancebo, who finished second in the prologue stage, nine seconds behind Ndayisenga on Wednesday finished sixth at the 2004 Tour de France and fourth in the 2005 Tour de France.

The 38-year-old Spanish rider also finished third at the 2004 Vuelta a Espana in Spain before winning a stage the following year at the same competition.

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