Pierre Latour on stage
Pierre Latour, riding for Team TotalEnergies, prevailed in stage five of the ongoing Tour du Rwanda 2024 after finishing an individual-time-trial circuit faster than anyone else on Thursday afternoon. Stage-four winner William Junior Lecerf secured the leader’s yellow jersey.
The French biker, 30, raced the 13-kilometre route in 23 minutes and 31 seconds to move up to tenth in the overall standings.
Despite falling short of Latour by 33 seconds today, Lecerf grasped the most sought-after jersey as the Soudal Quick-Step rider went two seconds cle
ar at the top of overall standings with nine hours, 47 minutes, and 39 seconds.
The fifth stage, which started in Musanze and ended at the home of Kwita Izina in Kinigi, left Rwandan riders fuming as their hopes of winning the 2.1-rated race for the first time faded away after they dropped dreadfully in the general classification.
Vainqueur Masengesho of Team Rwanda was the Best Rwandan Rider of stage five after emerging 22nd to earn a 20th-position in the overall standings, three minutes and 13 seconds behind Lecerf.
Java-innovate Pro Team’s Moise Mugisha, who had been leading the best Rwandan rider, is 21st, three minutes and 25 seconds shy of the leader, following his stage five’s 49th-place finish.
No African rider is in the top 10 overall leaders, with the so-far best African rider, Eritrea’s Aklilu Arefayne, sitting in 12th place.
Team Rwanda’s Didier Munyaneza pulled off the Best Sprinter award, while French team TotalEnergies was named the Best Team.
The race continues on Friday, leaving Northern province and heading for Kigali, in a 93.3-kilometre circuit from Musanze to Mont Kigali.
Stage 5 results:
- Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) 23minutes 31seconds 79
- William Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step) 24minutes 5seconds 44
- Peter Joseph Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) 24minutes 7seconds 25
- Ilkhan Dostiyev (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) 24minutes 13seconds 40
- Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies) 24minutes 14seconds 51
General classification:
- William Junior Lecerf (Soudal Quick-Step) 9hours 47minutes 39seconds
- Peter Joseph Blackmore (Israel-Premier Tech) +2seconds
- Ilkhan Dostiyev (Astana Qazaqstan Development Team) +8seconds
- Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies) +9seconds
- Jhonatan Restrepo Valencia (Polti Kometa) +15seconds
