By TesfaNews,
Eritrean Mekseb Debesay wins the first stage of Tour du Rwanda with Meron Teshome and Aron Debretsion following him 2nd and 3rd as he crossed the finishing line.
Mekseb Debesay, who rides for Team Bike Aid, set out to finish strong on the 120 km stage to claim his first gold. He is one of the favorites expected to win the tour as he was known claiming similar victories last year of the first and sixth stages.
“I did not have a particular strategy but as we approached the finish line, I decided to sprint because everyone was sprinting towards the finish. My efforts paid off. I cannot explain how happy I am,” an elated Debesay said.
Amanuel Gebreigzabhier, another Eritrean and the winner of Tour de Blida and the International Tour de Constantine racing events this year, also crowned the King of Mountain (KOM) title as he becomes the first leader in the mountain classification.
Rwanda’s Hadi Janvier remains ahead of the rest on the general classification, thanks to his victory yesterday on the prologue, retaining the yellow jersey for the second day in a row.
Eritrea’s set of five riders, for this year’s Tour du Rwanda is a confident lot. They say they are ready not just to challenge for the mountain stages but also the overall title in the 2015 Tour du Rwanda .
The second stage of Tour of Rwanda 2015 will be on Tuesday as riders prepare to cover the 120km road from Kigali to Huye.
The Tour of Rwanda, which is organized by Rwanda Cycling Federation, was first held in 1988 before it became part of the UCI Africa Tour category 2.2 six years ago.
Mekseb Debesay wins stage 1 of #TdRwanda pic.twitter.com/3WsuKLWiEz
— 𝗧𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝘂 𝗥𝘄𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮 🇷🇼 (@tour_du_Rwanda) November 16, 2015
