By Setif.info,
ERITREAN rider Mekseb Debesay today won the Criterium International Setif 5th round of the GTAC-2015, before Algerians Abdelbasat Hanachi of GS Oil and Hamza Faisal of Velo Club Sovac.
The Eritrean, winner of Blida International Tour 2015, crossed the finish line with a sprint with a time of 2:05:24 against Algerian Hanachi and Hamza Faisal.
International Criterium de Sétif was drawn around the headquarters of the wilaya of Setif, a total journey of 96 km, completed 30 laps (3.2 km x 30 laps), with the participation of 71 riders.
Three riders including two Algerians (Kerrar Ayoub and Abderrahmane Mansouri) took the lead by taking the lead of the race from the fifth lap, relegating the pack to over 40 seconds.
Arriving at the 14th lap, Kerrar Ayoub GS Petroleum, suffered a fall, leaving only the head and the Eritrean Meron Abraham and Algerian Abderrahmane Mansouri.
In the remaining eight laps, the Algerian Abderrahmane Mansouri from Club Sovac took the lead alone without arriving to take a reassuring ahead of the peloton, led by the Eritrean and Algerian runners GS Oil.
In the final sprint, the Eritrean runner Mekseb Debesay, who was elected best African cyclist of 2014, confirmed once again that he is not only an extraordinary climber but also an athlete who possesses a sprinter qualities.
On Monday, the first stage of international cycling Tour de Setif sixth round of GTAC-2015, will take the peloton from the town of Setif to Batna then return to Setif, total course 142 Km.
Mekseb Debesay (winner of the criterium / Morocco) said:
“It was a very close race in the final sprint with the presence of Algerians and Hanachi Barbari course, I’m known for my qualities of the climber, but today I proved that I’m a sprinter too. I launched the sprint 200 meters from the line to Hanachi I know very well. I thank my teammates who helped me to win this victory.” (* Software translation from French)
