The Tour du Rwanda 2025 got off to a great start on Monday as Henok Mulubrhan, a cyclist from Eritrea, won an outstanding victory in Stage 1. Top international cyclists competed fiercely on the stage, which spanned the route from Rukomo, Gicumbi, to Kayonza.
In a fiercely contested finale, Mulubrhan took first place after finishing the stage in 3 hours, 57 minutes, and 52 seconds. He defeated Lorrenzo Manzin of TotalEnergies, who took third place, and Rotem Tene of Israel Premier Tech, who came in second. Brady Gilmore (Israel Premier Tech) and Milan Menten (Lotto) completed the top five.
The battle was fierce, as evidenced by the fact that 51 riders finished with the same time as the stage winner.
Byukusenge Patrick (Java-InovoTec), the top finisher among the Rwandan cyclists, finished in 13th place with the same time as the leader.
Other noteworthy Rwandan competitors were Manizabayo Eric (Java-InovoTec) in 32nd position, Masengesho Vainqueur (Team Rwanda) in 21st, Mugisha Moise (Team Rwanda) in 28th, and Ngendahayo Jeremie (May Stars) in 17th place.
In the meantime, Team Rwanda’s Munyaneza Didier finished 63rd, one minute and fifteen seconds behind the leader.
With a time of 4 hours, 1 minute, and 43 seconds, Fabien Doubey of TotalEnergies is in first place in the general classification. Milan Menten of Lotto Development Team is not far behind.
Oliver Mattheis of Bike Aid is three seconds behind the leader, while Joris Delbove of TotalEnergies is only one second behind him. Devo Team Picnic’s Pavel Šumpik is four seconds down in fifth position.
Henok Mulubrhan of Eritrea is in 12th place, 10 seconds behind the leader, and Lotto Devo Team’s Aldo Taillieu is in 15th place with the same time. Masengesho Vainqueur of Rwanda is in 26th place, 21 seconds behind, while Byukusenge Patrick is also a contender.
The 17th Tour du Rwanda began with the prologue at BK Arena on Sunday morning, officially kicked off by President Paul Kagame and David Lappartient, President of the International Cycling Union.
Stage 2 of the eight-day competition, which is 112.8 kilometers long and runs from Kigali’s MIC building to Musanze, begins on Tuesday.
