Niyonshuti finishes 5th in S.Africa Mt. Bike race

Elite men 1 Kevin Evans 5:43:52 2 David George 0:03:51 3 Max Knox 0:04:23 4 Ben Swanepoel 0:11:39 5 Adrien Niyonshuti 0:16:21 6 Matthys Beukes 0:19:16 7 Brandon Stewart 0:21:14 8 Olivier Munnik 0:27:42 9 Rourke Croeser 0:27:45 10 Renay Groustra 0:27:49 RWANDA’s top cyclist Adrien Niyonshuti finished a respectable fifth in the 135km MTN Attakwas Ultra-marathon on Saturday. The race was won by his MTN-Energade teammate Kevin Evans who started 2010 in exactly the same way that he had ended 2009. The race attracted over 600 riders, who competed in different categories. “From the start, I was in the front row; actually I was third for most of the race until I went off lane near the end, something that resulted in dropping two places, which is why I finished in fifth place. I wanted to win the race or at least finish in the top three but I couldn’t. “It was a tough race but I hope to improve in the coming races. The season is just starting,” Niyonshuti told this paper yesterday in an email. And the 27-year MTN Energade (South Africa) rider remains optimistic of improving his time record in today’s Road race.“I am now targeting to improve in Sunday’s (today) Road Race in Cape Town.” Niyoshuti noted that he expects to compete in a number of races in South Africa as he prepares for this year’s edition of Tour of Rwanda when he will be battling to retain his title from Morocco’s Adil Joulle. Last month, the cyclist had an earlier superb finish in one of South Africa’s most prestigious races, emerging 20th in the Absa Cape Epic Challenge. Ends