Hadi praised for 'doing well' on his Tour of Alberta debut

Rwanda Cycling Federation president Aimable Bayingana praised Janvier Hadi for 'doing well' on his debut appearance in the Tour of Alberta despite failing to finish the final stage on Sunday.

Monday, September 08, 2014

General classification: Top three  1. Daryl Impey (South Africa) 16.07'56"2. Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) 16.07'57"3. Ruben Zepuntke (Germany) 16.08'05"

Rwanda Cycling Federation president Aimable Bayingana praised Janvier Hadi for ‘doing well’ on his debut appearance in the Tour of Alberta despite failing to finish the final stage on Sunday.

Janvier Hadi in training ahead of the Tour of Alberta race. (Courtesy photo)

The 23-year old, who is making his debut in the international race for his Canadian team Garneau-Quebecor, won the Simson Maxwell power jersey, a blue jersey awarded to the most aggressive rider of the day, withdrew from the fifth and final stage mid-way due to cold conditions.

Bayingana explained that Hadi worked very hard to represent well both his team and his country, which he did although weather conditions were strange to him and it affected his performance against top professional riders.

"He did well, we are proud of his work. He raced against top professional opponents and strange weather conditions. I’m pretty sure if he had been training in Canada for a month or more before, he could have done better but we are happy for him,” Bayingana told Times Sport on Monday.

However, it was not only Rwanda’s Hadi to pull out in the final stage. Out of 111 starters, only 75 riders managed completing the race. 36 including Hadi, were not strong enough to resist the race conditions on Sunday.

South Africa’s Daryl Impey riding for Orica-Green Edge won the 738-km six-day competition ahead of Tom Dumoulin (Netherlands) and Ruben Zepuntke (Germany).

USA’s Team Garmin-Sharp won the team award, Ramunas Navardauskas of Lithuania won the green jersey (Subway Sprint Jersey), Simon Yates of Great Britain claimed Go Auto King of the Mountain Jersey (Orange Polka Dots), Tom Dumoulin won ATB Financial Best Young Rider (White jersey).