Tour du Rwanda: Lecerf wins in Rubavu, teammate Reinderink retains Yellow Jersey
On the 21st of February, the Soudal-Quickstep Development team dominated Stage 4 of Tour du Rwanda 2024, a 93-kilometer route from Karongi to Rubavu along Lake Kivu. William Lecerf emerged victorious, clocking in at 2 hours, 19 minutes, and 22 seconds.
Lecerf’s teammate from the Netherlands, Pepijn Reinderink, maintained his hold on the prestigious Yellow Jersey, leading the General Classification (GC) with a total time of 9 hours, 23 minutes, and 34 seconds over 362.7 kilometres of racing.
Among the Rwandan riders, Moise Mugisha of Java Inovotec finished 18th in the sprint on Wednesday, he is 17th overall just seven seconds behind the GC leader. Eric Manizabayo follows closely in the 21st position, trailing by 57 seconds on GC.
Despite the stage’s brevity, a challenging 3,000-meter climb added complexity to the race, keeping the peloton on edge. Early breakaway attempts by world-renowned cyclist Chris Froome of Israel Premier Tech and Pierre Latour of TotalEnergies were quickly nullified by the vigilant peloton within the last 5km.
Earlier in the race, Frenchman Brieuc Rolland of Groupama-FDJ launched a solo attack, holding the lead for nearly 40 kilometres until the final sprint. In the sprint finish, Lecerf powered ahead, securing victory for Soudal-Quickstep, with Colombian Jhonatan Restrepo of Polti-Kometa and Julien Simon of TotalEnergies trailing behind.
With Reinderink donning the Yellow Jersey once more, all eyes turn to the upcoming Stage Five in northern Rwanda: a 13-kilometer uphill individual Time Trial from Musanze to Kinigi on Thursday 21st of February.
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