Natnael Tesfazion And Moïse Mugisha At The Party
The fervor of the public accompanied Moïse Mugisha (ProTouch) towards the first victory of a Rwandan rider since his namesake Samuel Mugisha in 2018. The Eritrean Natnael Tesfazion (Drone Hopper-Androni) won the final classification
He managed to resist the power of the TotalEnergies team which had placed two riders in the breakaway, Alexandre Geniez and Sandy Dujardin. 500 meters from the finish on the 2.8 kilometer long climb of Rebero, Mugisha and Dujardin had joined Geniez who had escaped just a little before. The two Frenchmen no longer had the strength to prepare for the sprint and prevent Moïse Mugisha from crossing the line first.
“It is an important victory for me but also for Rwandan cycling, declared the winner, the last days I had already tried my luck but I had not succeeded. I had one last chance left today, I didn’t want to miss it. It’s been too long since a Rwandan has won here, I’m so happy to have finally filled that void. »
Natnael Tesfazion was equally happy. The Eritrean from the Drone Hopper-Androni team, wearing the yellow jersey since Friday, kept his place as leader until the final to win his second Tour of Rwanda after 2020. He was ahead of the Ukrainian Anatolii Budiak (Terengganu) on the podium. ) of 26” and the Irishman Jesse Ewart (Bike Aid) of 48”.
“I had already won in 2020 thanks to a breakaway, said Natnael Tesfazion, this time I had to calculate more, it was very strategic against very strong riders like Budiak and Ewart. I too felt good all week. »
