PHOTOS: Metkel wins stage five, closes gap on Ndayisenga

Stage 5: Top Ten1. Eyob Metkel- Dimension Data 03h15’57’’2. Patrick Byukusenge- Club Benediction 03h15’57’’3. Kibrom Hailay Giday- Ethiopia National Team 03h15’57’’4. Gasore Hategeka- Team Rwanda 03h15’57’’5. Bonaventure Uwizeyimana- Dimension Data 03h16’43’’6. Tesfom Okubamariam- Eritrea National Team 03h16’43’’ 7. Calvin Beneke- South Africa National Team 03h16’43’’8. Omer Goldshtein- Cycling Academy Team 03h16’43”9. Aman Werkilul Ghebreigzabhier- Dimension 03h16’43’’10. Temesgen Mebrahtu Buru- Ethiopia National Team 03h16’43’’ ‘’ General Classification1. Valens Ndayisenga -Dimension Data 16h11’19’’2. Eyob Metkel - Dimension Data 16h12’01’’3. Joseph Areruya - Les Amis Sportifs 16h12’35’’4. Tesfom Okubamariam - Eritrea National Team 16h12’42’’5. Jean Bosco Nsengimana – Stradalli-Bike Aid 16h12’45’’6. Patrick Byukusenge - Club Benediction 16h13’59’’7. Hailay Kibrom Giday- Ethiopia National Team 16h14’22”8. Amanu Ghebreigzabhier Werkilul - Dimension Data 16h14’44’’9. Suleiman Kangagi - Kenyan Riders DownUnder 16h14’45’’10. Temesgen Mebrahtu Buru - Ethiopia National team 16h14’56’’ Eyob Metkel, who is riding for Team Dimension Data for Qhubeka, won Stage 5 of Tour du Rwanda on Friday to pile pressure on teammate and yellow jersey holder, Valens Ndayisenga. Tour leader Ndayisenga greets cycling fans in Muhanga yesterday. Riders pedal their way to Musanze District yesterday. Here, they were riding past a mosque in Muhanga District in the Southern Province. Crowds in Muhanga cheer the riders on during stage five of the ongoing Tour du Rwanda 2016 yesterday. Despite a long and difficult day that was characterised by cold winds and heavy rains in Nyabihu, about 25 kilometres to the finish line, it didn’t stop the 23-year-old three-time Tour du Rwanda stage winner (2013, 2015 and 2016) from claiming his first victory of this year’s race. Rwandan Valens Ndayisenga (in yellow jersey) of South Africas Team Dimension Data For Qhubeka retained the prestigious jersey after stage five yesterday. Eritrian Eyob Metkel (L) won yesterdays stage but it was not enough to wrestle the yellow jersey from his South African club teammate, Rwandan Valens Ndayisenga (R). The Eritrean used 3 hours, 15 minutes and 57 seconds, same time as Patrick Byukusenge (2nd) of Club Benediction, Kibrom Hailay Giday (3rd) of Ethiopia National Team and Team Rwanda’s Gasore Hategeka (4th). Samuel Kadari poses with his rising son, Samuel Mugisha, in Muhanga yesterday. Fans in Rugabano in Ngororero District blew vuvuzeras in support of the riders. Eyob, who has won the yellow jersey a combined nine times between 2013 and 2015 but without winning the overall race, made his intention of grabbing the leader’s yellow jersey from Ndayisenga, who has worn it since stage two. Samuel Mugisha, the best climber of Tour du Rwanda 2016 since it started on Sunday, crosses the finish line walking after suffering an accident in Musanze yesterday. Gasore Hategeka enjoys a huge fan base in Nyabihu District. The quartet finished 46 seconds ahead of the second peloton that comprised 16 riders, including Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (Dimension Data), Jean Bosco Nsengimana (Stradalli-Bike Aid), stage 4 winner Joseph Areruya while yellow Jersey holder and stage two winner, Valens Ndayisenga was 18th. The riders braved a chilly day in Nyabihu and elsewhere during stage five. In Nyabihu, fans were excited to see the riders during the Tours stage five yesterday. “It was a tough stage and I am happy to win, but our first target as a team is to keep the yellow jersey with Ndayisenga,” said Eyob in an interview with Times Sport after scooping the Skol’s Orange jersey of the stage winner. The riders were welcomed by thousands of excited fans in Musanze, with some using this complex to catch a glimpse of the competitors. Mugishas bike got technical problems a few minutes to the finish line in Musanze District during Tour du Rwandas stage five yesterday. After his victory, Eyob moved from the fifth to the second place in the general classification having reduced the gap on the race leader by 42 seconds, with two stages remaining. They also rode through Ngororero District en route to Musanze. Ndayisenga (second right) finished in 18th position yesterday but remains at the top of the general classification going into the races final two days. Rwandan Ndayisenga, winner in 2014 and bidding to become the first rider to win Tour du Rwanda more than once since it became a UCI Africa Tour race in 2009, has used a total of 16 hours, 11 minutes and 19 seconds. Tour du Rwanda riders enter Mimbi area in Ngororero District during stage five. Oussama Mansouri signs the attendance list before stage five could get underway in Muhanga yesterday. Asked if they will not be against each other in the remaining two final stages with Ndayisenga, Eyob noted that, “No, no, we are not against each, we are a team and we are working together so that we win the tour both as a team and the yellow.” Residents look on as the riders embark on stage five in Muhanga yesterday. Twenty-year old Areruya of Les Amis Sportifs de Rwamagana comes in third place with 16 hours, 12 minutes and 35 seconds followed by Tesfom Okubamariam, riding for Eriteria national team with 16h12’42” while defending champion Nsengimana is in the fifth place with 16h12’45”. Riders enter Kanogo in Ngororero District in Day Six of the annual competition yesterday. For the fourth day in a row, Benediction Club youngster Samuel Mugisha claimed the best climber jersey while Ndayisenga scooped the young, best Rwandan, best African jerseys. Today riders will race in the penultimate stage from Musanze to Kigali, covering a distance of 103.9km. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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PHOTOS: Metkel wins stage five, closes gap on Ndayisenga