National Cycling Championships

Road race results

Joseph Biziyaremye (Cine Elmay) 3:17:16Joseph Aleluya (Amis Sportifs) 3:17:16Abraham Ruhumuriza (Cycling For All) 3:17:16Adrien Niyonshuti (MTN Qhubeka) 3:17:16Jean Claude Uwizeye (Amis Sportifs) 3:17:16

Joseph Biziyaremye of Cine Elmay club clocked 3:17:16 to emerge winner of the men’s elite road race category at the National Cycling Championships yesterday from Kigali to Huye, a total distance of 120km.

The 27-year-old, who is fresh from a month’s training session at the USA national team training facility in Limburg, Netherlands, attributed his triumph to the beneficial training at the high performance centre as well as competitions in nearby Belgium that saw him perfect his sprinting.

"I am very happy with my win today. It was a tough race because of the many experienced riders but thankfully the training I got from Netherlands came into play,” explained the contented Biziyaremye who fended off tight competition from reigning champions Amis Sportifs and favourites Benediction to hand the Nyamirambo-based side victory.

Renowned for his aggressiveness and never-give-up attitude, Biziyaremye won stage five of last year’s Tour du Rwanda from Rubavu to Nyanza – 182km having clocked 5:09:49.

Teenager Joseph Aleluya of Amis Sportifs finished second, micro seconds behind Biziyaremye while veteran Abraham Ruhumuriza and pro cyclist with MTN Qhubeka Adrien Niyonshuti settled for third and fourth respectively following a tightly contested sprint to the finish line orchestrated by Camera Hakuzimana (Benediction) 100m to the finish line in Huye town.

Niyonshuti was disappointed that he failed to win and said, "I did my best to try and win but unfortunately, I fell sick earlier this week and that affected my plan as I did not perform at my full potential.”

Amis Sportifs youngster Jean Claude Uwizeye was fifth while Benediction’s Hakuzimana and Patrick Byukusenge settled for sixth and seventh in that order in the first peloton that sprinted to the finish line in front of hundreds of fans waiting by the roadside.

In the U-23 category, Aleluya emerged winner as Uwizeye and Byukusenge were second and third respectively."Finishing second in the general classification and first in the U-23 category means so much to me and it is a reward for all the hard work and determination,” said Aleluya.

The reigning champion Valens Ndayisenga and Janvier Hadi crossed the finish line at the same time (3:27:45) to finish a distant 17th and 18th respectively.

Ndayisenga, who was favourite to defend his title, suffered nose bleeding with 5km to go and had to be treated before resuming but the leading peloton had eluded him.

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