La Tropicale: Geoffrey Soupe wins stage one as Rwandans struggle

Stage One 1. Soupe Geoffrey (TEN) 3h00'19'' 2. Blouwe Louis (BWB) 3h00'19'' 3. Angulo Antonio (BBH) 3h00'19'' 4. Mulueberhan Henok (ERI) 3h00'19” 5. Jeanniere Emilien (TEN) 3h00'19'' General classification 1. Soupe Geoffrey (TEN) 3h00'19'' 2. Blouwe Louis (BWB) 3h00'23'' 3. Angulo Antonio (BBH) 3h00'25'' 4. Barthe Cyril (BBH) 3h00'28'' 5. Mulueberhan Henok (ERI) 3h00'29' Geoffrey Soupe, who rides for Total Energies team, on Monday won Stage One of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo in a thrilling sprint to the finish line at Oyem. The Frenchman clocked 3h00'19'' to race 121.5 kilometres. He beat Belgian Louis Blouwe, who rides for the Bingoal team, and Spaniard Antonio Angulo of Burgos-BH to finish first in the sprint. A disappointing showing on Monday left Rwandan riders’ hopes of winning the first La Tropicale Amissa Bongo under the UCI 2.1 category fall under serious scrutiny with best-performing Rwandan rider of the day Renus Byiza Uhiriwe, now falling over five minutes behind yellow jersey holder Soupe. Moroccan El Houcaine Sabbahi and Burkinabé Paul Daumont had a bright start to the departure before they were chased by Aurélien Achetkueyinyi (Cameroon) and Issiaka Cissé (Ivory Coast). In a long breakaway, Achetkueyinyi was caught after 80 kilometres of racing. In the last 40 kilometres, Spaniard Mario Aparicio (Burgos-BH) attacked and kept a good lead on the peloton for more than a minute. The peloton led by the Belgians of Bingoal-WB and the Eritrean national team was reduced in the final circuit and, despite the last attempt of Paul Ourselin, they regrouped just before the last kilometre to offer a masterful sprint as the tradition in Oyem. But Soupe laughed last as he clinched the first stage to start the race in high spirit. The Frenchman had previously won in Gabon during his last participation in La Tropicale in 2011, during a stage that took place between Oyem and Bitam, which was the opposite direction of Monday's itinerary.

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La Tropicale: Geoffrey Soupe wins stage one as Rwandans struggle