After winning the first time trial stage on Sunday at the start of the Tour of Rwanda 2022, Alexandre Geniez did it again today by winning the fifth stage between Muhanga and Musanze. The Frenchman from the TotalEnergies team beat his compatriot Pierre Rolland (B&B Hotels-KTM) in the last meters when the two riders had escaped together for almost 50 kilometers.
“It was a hard day physically and psychologically,” said Alexandre Geniez. The breakaway took a long time to get under way and when I found myself with Pierre I knew it would be difficult to manage. As he was stronger than me on the climbs and I was faster in the sprint, I had to stay in his wheel as long as possible. It was a game of poker because the peloton came back to us, we played on the edge. We had to keep just a little ahead to play for the victory between the two of us. »
The yellow jersey Axel Laurance could not follow the best, he finished 20th at 4’10” and is no longer leader in the general classification, it is the Spaniard Angel Madrazo (Burgos-BH) who takes the first place. He is tied for time with the Eritrean Natnael Tesfazion (Drone Hopper-Androni). The two riders are separated by hundredths of a second in the first stage against the clock.
THE WINNER’S CARD
ALEXANDRE GENIEZ
France
33 Years
Team: TotalEnergies (France)
Professional since 2010
19 UCI victories including 3 in World Tour events (3 stages of the Vuelta de España in 2013, 2016 and 2018).
Tour of Rwanda: 2nd appearance (2021, 2022), 2 stage wins (2022)
UCI world ranking: 850th
