Ethiopian Desalegn wins stage 6, Mugisha edges closer to Tour du Rwanda victory

Mugisha Samuel retained the yellow jersey after stage six of the Tour du Rwanda which climaxed on Friday in Kinigi, Musanze District.

Rwandan Mugisha Samuel is on the verge of lifting the 10^th edition of the Tour du Rwanda after he retained the yellow jersey during Friday’s Stage Six which climaxed in Kinigi, Musanze District.

With two stages left to the climax of the 2018 Tour du Rwanda, Mugisha maintains a 21-second lead at the help of the general classification with a total time of 19h31’52.

On Friday, he finished a distant 20^th clocking 02h56’22 in a 108.5km race which consisted of three climbs, with cyclists riding on the foot of the breathtaking Volcanoes National Park, home to the famous mountain gorillas on Friday.

Ethiopian Temalew Bereket Desalegn won the stage with a total time of 02h53’38 and was followed by Les Amis Sportifs rider Mugisha Moise in second spot and South Africa’s Julius Jayde in third spot.

There were two other Rwandans in the top ten with Manizabayo finishing fifth while Rugamba Janvier of Les Amis Sportifs came in eighth slot.

For Mugisha to win his maiden Tour du Rwanda, he has to maintain good performances going into Saturday and Sunday’s stage ensuring that a safeguard of his 21-second gap.

Besides leading the general classification, Mugisha is also ranked as the best young rider in the cycling tour, best Rwandan and African rider respectively.

Algerian Lagab Azzedine of Groupement Sportif Des Petroliers is ranked as the best combativity rider; Hadi Janvier of Rwanda’s Benediction team is the best ranked sprints rider while Ethiopian Hailemichael Mulu is the King of the Mountain.

Action continues on Saturday with stage seven where riders will undergo a 107.4-kilometre trip from Musanze district to Kigali city before concluding with a penultimate stage on Sunday where riders will twice tackle the now famous 500-metre ‘Wall of Kigali’, a 12 percent steep climb of cobblestones which traditionally attracts hundreds of fans.

While this is the 21st year of Tour of Rwanda’s existence, this is the 10th edition of the UCI international 2.2 race, which is scheduled to move up to 2.1 in 2019.

10^th Tour du Rwanda

Stage 6 Standings (Rubavu-Kinigi)

1. Temalew Bereket Desalegn (Ethiopia) – 02h53’38

2. Mugisha Moise (Les Amis Sportifs) – 02h53’39

3. Julius Jayde (South Africa) –02h54’01

4. Lagab Azzedine (Groupement Sportif Des Petroliers) – 02h54’01

5. Manizabayo Eric (Benediction) – 02h54’05

6. Buru Temesgen (Ethiopia) – 02h54’26

7. Quadvlieg Lara (Team Embrace the World) – 02h55’03

8. Rugamba Janvier (Les Amis Sportifs) – 02h55’04

9. Fourie James (South Africa) -02h55’20

10. Voss Arnaud (POC Cote de Lumiere) -02h55’32

Selected Result

20. Mugisha Samuel (Rwanda) –02h56’22

General Classification-After Stage 6

1. Mugisha Samuel (Rwanda) – 19h31’52

2. Uwizeye Jean Claude (POC Cote de Lumière) – 19h32’13

3. Hailemichael Mulu (Ethiopia) – 19h32’16

4. Lagab Azzedine (Groupement Sportif Des Petroliers) – 19h32’35

5. Lozano Riba David (Team Novo Nordisk) – 19h33’42

6. Temalew Bereket Desalegn (Ethiopia) – 19h33’46

7. Ndayisenga Ndayisenga Valens (POC Cote de Lumière) – 19h34’08

8. Doring James (Team Descartes Romandie) – 19h34’13

9. Munyaneza Didier (Rwanda) – 19h34’54

10. Goudin Valentin Haute Savoir Auvergne Rhone) – 19h36’00

Mountain Classification

1. Hailemichael Mulu (Ethiopia) – 68 pts

2. Rugg Timothy (Team Embrace the World) – 45

3. Temalew Bereket Desalegn (Ethiopia) – 27

Sprints Classification

1. Hadi Janvier (Benediction) – 13

2. Araujo Bruno (Petro de Luanda, Angola) – 11

3. Buru Temesgen (Ethiopia) – 8

 Best Young Classification

1. Mugisha Samuel (Rwanda) – 19h31’52”

2. Hailemichael Mulu (Ethiopia) – 19h32’16”

3. Temalew Bereket Desalegn (Ethiopia) -19h33’46”

 Best African Riders-After Stage 6

1. Mugisha Samuel (Rwanda) – 19h31’52”

2. Uwizeye Jean Claude (POC Cote de Lumière) – 19h32’13”

3. Hailemichael Mulu (Ethiopia) – 19h32’16

 Team Classification

1. Ethiopia – 58h39’01”

2. POC Cote de Lumiere – 58h40’22”

3. Rwanda – 58h50’57”