Team Rwanda riders win bronze at All Africa Games

Today Individual time trial at 9am Men - two laps of 12.5km (25km) Women - one lap of 12.5km Results – team time trial 1. South Africa 29:31.962. Algeria 29:50.543. Rwanda 30:30.194. Burkina Faso 31:41.065. Kenya 32:01.33 Team Rwanda has won bronze in the men’s team time trial after posting 30:30.19 at the ongoing All Africa Games in Congo Brazzaville. The quartet of Janvier Hadi, Jean Bosco Nsengimana, Joseph Aleluya and Valens Ndayisenga displayed a spectacular performance at the continental showpiece that attracted nine teams. Rwanda finished a minute behind winners South Africa, who clocked 29:31.96 with Algeria settling for silver after crossing the line in 29:50.54. It is Rwanda’s first medal at the continental event. “We are disappointed with our performance because we wanted to win gold but we did our best,” said the national team coach Felix Sempoma. He added that, I am pleased with the riders performance. They did their best because it was not easy. The course was flat and difficult but I am happy that we are on the podium even though we would have preferred to win gold. The experienced South African trio of Gustav Basson, Shaun-Nick Bester and Hendrik Kruger emerged winners with Algeria’s Abbderrahmane Mansouri, Abbderrahmane Bechelaghem, Nassim Saidi and Adil Barbari winning silver. Burkina Faso (31:41.06), Kenya (32:01.33) and Ethiopia (32:15.24) finished fourth, fifth and sixth positions respectively. Liberia (32:17.27), Egypt (33:23.36) and Nigeria (33:40.54) were seventh, ninth and 10th in that order. Earlier, in the women’s category, Nigeria stunned South Africa by four seconds to bag gold with the latter settling for silver. Marcus Rosemary, Grikpa Gladys Tombrapa and Happy Okafor of Nigeria were impressive in showdown to edge South Africa’s Lise Olivier, Catherine Colyn and Heidi Dalton. Ethiopia finished third with Hadnet Kidane Asmelash, Gebre Tsega Beyene, Tesfoam Eyeru Gebru and Hafte Sendel Tewele who put in a great performance. Meanwhile, Jeanne dArc Girubuntu will compete in the womens individual time trial today. Fresh from the World Cycling Centre in Switzerland where she has been training for the last four months, Girubuntu hopes to use this experience to add to Rwandas medal tally. Ndayisenga and Hadi will compete in the mens individual time trial hoping to finish on the podium as well. Both riders have won honours on the continental level in the U-23 category with Ndayisenga winning silver at this years Africa cycling championships in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa and Hadi winning bronze in the 2013 edition in Egypt. This is yet another opportunity to win medals. editorial@newtimes.co.rw

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Team Rwanda riders win bronze at All Africa Games