Top 5

1. Adrien Petit (Fra) 18h11’50’’2. Andrea Palini (Ita) 18h11’56’’3. Delaplace Anthony (Fra) 18h12’08’’4. Okubamariam Tesfom (Erit) 18h12’15’’5. Fonseca Armindo (Fra) 18h12’25’’

Team Rwanda

15. Jean Claude Uwizeye 18h13’28’’25. Camera Hakuzimana 18h14’49’’36. Patrick Byukusenge 18h18’24’’51. Janvier Hadi 18h28’10’’63. Joseph Areruya 18h38’26’’22. Jean Bosco Nsengimana (Bike Aid) 18h14’22’’

Frenchman Adrien Petit, riding for Team Direct Energie, won the 2016 La Tropicale Amissa Bongo Tour on Sunday as Team Rwanda Cycling team finished 7th in team classification out of 14 teams that took part in the week-long race.

Running from January 18-24 across Gabon and parts of Cameroon, the 11th edition of Africa’s most prestigious cycling event, was comprised of 7 stages covering a total distance of 778km. The average speed of the race was 42.74km/h.

The 25-year -old Petit dominated the competition, winning three stages (third, fifth and sixth) to come out on top after using 18h11’50’ to dethrone Tunisian Rafaa Chtioui (Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling), who won the 10th edition in 2015.

Rwandan rider Jean Claude Uwizeye, 22, finished one and 38 seconds behind the winner, to finish 15th in general classification. Last year’s Tour du Rwanda stage three winner, Emile Bintunimana did not complete.

French riders dominated the race, with three in the top five. Italian, Andrea Palini, riding for Skydice Dubai, finished second while Eritrean amateur Tesfom Okubamariam finished fourth, and first among African riders.

Rated 2.1 in UCI since last year and part of the UCI Africa Tour, La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is the highest ranked cycling race on the continent, and is known for bringing together amateur African cycling teams with professional teams from Europe.

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