Nsengimana Still in Reach - Tour du Rwanda

While Meron Amanuel took with his 7th place today another Top Ten result for STRADALLI - BIKE AID, the Rwandan Jean-Bosco Nsengimana stays in reach for the GC with just 1:27 down on leader Valens Ndayisenga

It is called the "country of the thousand hills" and that has a reason. Every day the guys have to fight with endless kilometers of uphill roads and suffer a lot on Rwanda's roads. While the African riders from Rwanda and Eritrea dictate the tempo in the hills, the European riders have to work very hard to follow them.

STRADALLI - BIKE AID rider Jean-Bosco Nsengimana knows the roads very well and is every day in the top of the race, so he currently ranks 4th in the GC with just 1.27 minute down on Valens Ndayisenga - also from Rwanda. The upcoming days will bring dramatic fight for the GC where Jean-Bosco will definitely have a word to say until the race finishes on Kigali's roads on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Meron Amanuel could show an impressive final today and sprint to a good 7th place when Rwandan rider Joseph Areruya took the stage win.

Meron Amanuel takes lead in KOM classification - Tour du Rwanda 1st stage

On today's first stage of Tour du Rwanda, Meron Amanuel from STRADALLI - BIKE AID took the lead in climbers classification while Jean-Bosco Nsengimana now ranks on 3rd in GC with 1 second behind.

After 96,4 hilly kilometers from Kigali to Ngoma, the Canadian Guillaume Boivin from Cycling Academy Team won the final sprint out of a 19 man front group that managed to break away 30 kilometers from the finish. Also in this group, STRADALLI - BIKE AID leader Jean - Bosco Nsengimana who came in with the same time and now sits on 3rd place overall with just 1 second down.
"Now it is a perfect situation for us and Bosco, as the gap is just 1 second and the responsibility to control the race is on the Rwandan team, so we can be relaxed and wait for the right time", Yves Beau (Sporting Director of STRADALLI - BIKE AID) said.

The Eritrean Meron Amanuel won the only KOM of the day and overtook the leaders jersey that he will wear on tomorrow's second stage.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​