General classification
1. MULUEBERHAN Henok (GBF) 28h58'01''
2. CALZONI Walter (Q36) 28h58'01''
3. LECERF William (SQD) 28h58'02''
4. DE LA PARTE Victor (TEN) 28h58'05''
5. MAIN Kent (RSA) 28h58'34''
Henok Mulueberhan of Green Project-Bardiani made history on Sunday afternoon after claiming the final stage to Canal Olympia in Rebero to win Tour du Rwanda 2023.
The 23-year-old becomes the fourth Eritrean to win Tour du Rwanda after Daniel Teklehaimanot, Natnael Tesfatsion who won it twice and Merhawi Kudus.
President Paul Kagame was in attendance at Canal Olympia, Rebero to grace the closing ceremony of the race which has been underway throughout the past eight days since February 19.
The yellow jersey for the race was not decided until Mulueberhan crossed the finish-line at Canal Olympia leading the peloton of the 8th and final stage. He finished triumphant after 75.3 kilometers in two hours four minutes and 52 seconds.
The youngster was crowned champion after covering 1,054.6 kilometers overall in 58 hours 28 minutes and one second to beat second-placed Walter Calzoni of Q 36.5 PRO Cycling Team to the yellow jersey by just microseconds.
"This is the best day of my life," he said.
"I have always dreamed of winning the Tour du Rwanda because it is the toughest race in Africa. It will remain a great moment in my career because now I have proved that I can win a big race," he added.
Meanwhile, Bike Aid’s Eric Muhoza struggled to keep his bike wheels rolling and eventually lost ground to the yellow jersey winner despite being among the favorites to win the race prior to the final stage.
The 21-year-old dropped to 14th place on the general classification but remained the overall best Rwandan rider of the just-concluded race.