Merhawi Kudus sealed the overall title of the Tour du Rwanda road race after he finished second on the final stage in Kigali today.
Astana Pro’s Merhawi Kudus (pictured) sealed the overall title of the Tour du Rwanda in Kigali today. Photo: Tour du Rwanda/Nils Laengner
The Astana Pro rider from Eritrea, who also won the best African jersey, completed the eight-stage event in 24:12:37 to beat Direct Energie’s Rein Taaramae and Israel Cycling Academy’s Matteo Badilatti.
South Africans Jayde Julius (ProTouch) finished 42nd, Rohan du Plooy (ProTouch) 51st and Mornay van Heerden (ProTouch) 55th.
Du Plooy also won the sprinter’s jersey while Yakob Debesay Abreham claimed the King of the Mountains and best young rider classifications.
The 61.7km stage was won by Kudus’ teammate Rodrigo Contreras in 1:33:10 with Delko Marseille Provence’s Alessandro Fedeli rounding out the podium.
View the results below.
Stage eight
1. Rodrigo Contreras (Astana Pro Team) 1:33:10
2. Merhawi Kudus (Astana Pro Team) 0:01:06
3. Alessandro Fedeli (Delko Marseille Provence)
4. Hernan Aguirre (Interpro Cycling Academy)
5. Mulu Hailemichael (Dimension Data)
6. Adrien Guillonnet (Interpro Cycling Academy)
7. Matteo Badilatti (Israel Cycling Academy)
8. Rein Taaramae (Direct Energie) 0:01:09
9. Jeremy Bellicaud (France) 0:01:10
10. Valens Ndayisenga (Rwanda) 0:01:12
*Selected
34. Jayde Julius (ProTouch) 0:04:56
45. Mornay van Heerden (ProTouch) 0:13:20
46. Rohan du Plooy (ProTouch)
General classification
1. Merhawi Kudus (Astana Pro Team) 24:12:37
2. Rein Taaramae (Direct Energie) 0:0:10
3. Matteo Badilatti (Israel Cycling Academy) 0:0:18
4. Hernan Aguirre (Interpro Cycling Academy) 0:0:31
5. Sirak Tesfom (Eritrea) 0:04:04
6. David Lozano (Team Novo Nordisk) 0:04:50
7. Yakob Debesay (Eritrea) 0:06:51
8. Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya) 0:07:05
9. Joseph Areruya (Delko Marseille Provence) 0:07:10
10. Rodrigo Contreras (Astana Pro Team) 0:07:11
*Selected
42. Jayde Julius (ProTouch) 0:58:58
51. Rohan du Plooy (ProTouch) 1:29:35
55. Mornay van Heerden (ProTouch) 1:39:40
