Thomas Bonnet took the Tour du Rwanda 2023 yellow jersey away from then holder Henok Mulueberhane after claiming fourth stage on Wednesday. The 24-year-old, who rides for TotalEnergies, claimed the stage after he crossed the finish line in Karongi in a solo sprint after covering 138.3 kilometres in three hours 19 minutes and 23 seconds, five seconds ahead of second-placed Mark Stewart of British side Bolton Equities Black SP. The French rider opened a 20-second gap head of Mulueberhane who dropped to second place in general classification. ALSO READ: Tour du Rwanda: Mulueberhane storms to Yellow Jersey after stage 3 win Bonnet is a natural road and cyclo-cross racing cycling. He previously won the bronze medal in the men's juniors event at the 2016 UCI Cyclo-cross World Championships in Heusden-Zolder. He now wants to add Tour du Rwanda to his CV. However, in what looked to be the most grueling stage of the race so far, Bonnet admitted that it’s too soon to celebrate the Yellow jersey with four more stages to go. Rwandans continue to struggle A disappointing showing during the Musanze-Karongi stage left local cyclists’ hopes of winning the first Tour du Rwanda 2.1 category under serious scrutiny with the likes of Jean Bosco Nsengimana and Moïse Mugisha, who were regarded by many among pre-tournament favorites, now clearly letting the race get out of their hands. Nsengimana, who emerged 63rd in the Musanze-Karongi race, is now 12 minutes 56 seconds behind the yellow jersey holder while Mugisha is 14 minutes and 20 seconds off the top. Surprisingly, Eric Muhoza remains the only hope for Rwanda in the race given his tireless fighting spirit that he showed during the past four stages. Muhoza, who emerged 12th in Stage Four, will be relying on the support from his Bike Aid teammates, if he is to close the gap at the top as he is now 31 seconds behind stage winner and current yellow jersey holder Bonnet in the stage classification. The race resumes on Thursday when riders take stage five to Rubavu, departing from Rusizi in a distance of 195.5 kilometers. The fifth day of racing features a lot of small climbing throughout the day. The 11.2Km at 4.9% and 21.2Km at 2.8% ascents will be the main points of attack surely, however a 1.7Km ascent, very close to the finish in Rubavu, can further provide terrain for decisive moves. Stage Four prize winners 1. Yellow Jersey holder: Thomas Bonnet (Total Directe Energies) 2. Best Climber: Marc Oliver Pritzen (EF Education-Nippo) 3. Best Young Rider: Lecerf William Junior (Soudal Quick Step Devo Team) 4. Stage Winner: Bonnet Thomas (Total Directe Energies) 5. Best Sprinter: Fouche James (Bolton Equities) 6. Best Rwandan: Eric Muhoza (Bike Aid) 7. Best African Rider: Henok Mulueberhan (Green Project) 8. Best Combative Rider: Akilu Arefayne (Team Erythrea) 9. Best in Breakaway: Stewart Mark (Soudal Quick Step Devo Team) 10. Best Team of the day: Total Direct Energies (France)
