Colombian rider Jhonatan Restrepo of Italian UCI Pro team Polti-Kometa climbed to the podium in Rusizi as winner of Stage 3 of Tour du Rwanda 2024 after riding his way from Huye to Rusizi (140.3 kilometers) in 04 hours 01 minute and 11 seconds.
Victory to Restrepo saw Dutchman Pepijn Reinderink, who plays for Soudal Quick-Step Devo Team, take over the yellow jersey from Israel Premier Tech’s Itamaer Einhorn ahead of Wednesday’s Stage Four which will see the peloton head to Rubavu from Karongi at a distance of 93km.
Reinderink took the jersey after finishing third in the third stage, trailing the stage winner by just microseconds while Moise Mugisha was the first Rwandan who came the closest, 7 minutes adrift of Restrepo. The Java Inovotec rider is also the best Rwandan performer on the general classification as he ranks 17th overall.
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Team Rwanda's Didier Munyaneza, Kiya Rogora (CMC), Vinzent Dorn (Bike Aid) and Dillon Geary (South Africa) were leading the peloton early on in the first kilometer, opening a 15-second gap from the group.
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Arriving at Maraba, the trio had already extended their gap by 40 seconds ahead of Etienne Tuyizere of Java-InovoTec and 55 seconds clear of the chasing group.
Munyaneza won the points for the first mountain that started in Nyamagabe, followed by Habteab and Geary.
At the 27th kilometer, Munyaneza crashed and was left behind, hence losing points for the second mountain that started in Kigeme to Bike Aid’s Yoel Habtaeb, followed by Dillon Geary, Tuyizere and Shafik Mugalu.
The points for climbing "sprint" which started in Kigeme at 32.9 kilometers went to May Stars’ Mugalu but, after his bikes encountered a mechanical problem, Habtaeb won the third points for the next climb at Kaganza Mountain at the 39th kilometer.
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By 51 kilometers, the front four were 3 minutes and 40 seconds ahead of the peloton before the gap narrowed to 2 minutes and 42 seconds by the 81st kilometer.
The 96th kilometer had the runners caught up to the leaders. In the last 20 kilometers, Einhorn tried to lead the race but was not successful, as were others including William Lecerf Junior (Soudal Quick-Step) and Brieuc Rolland of Groupama-FDJ and Pierre Latour who wanted to win in two kilometers later.
The 140.3 kilometers raced in front of the Rusizi market ended in Restrepo’s favor, reclaiming the Huye-Rusizi stage just like he did in 2020.
It was the 30-year-old’s seventh stage victory, the highest by a rider in the history of Tour du Rwanda, overtaking retired Rwandan cyclist Valens Ndayisenga and Eritrean Eyob Metkel who won five stages each.