2019 Tour du Rwanda

2019 Tour du Rwanda
Series	2019 UCI Africa Tour
Date	24 February–3 March 2019
Stages	8
Distance	958.4
Unit	km
Time	24h 12' 37"
First	Merhawi Kudus
First nat	ERI
First color	yellow
Second	Rein Taaramäe
Second nat	EST
Third	Matteo Badilatti
Third nat	SUI
Mountains	Yakob Debesay
Mountains nat	ERI
Mountains team	Eritrea
Mountains color	orange
Sprints	Rohan du Plooy
Sprints nat	RSA
Sprints color	blue lines volta
Youth	Yakob Debesay
Youth nat	ERI
Youth team	Eritrea
Youth color	light blue
Team	Eritrea
Previous	2018
Next	2020

The 2019 Tour du Rwanda was a road cycling stage race that took place between 24 February and 3 March 2019. The race was rated as a 2.1 event as part of the 2019 UCI Africa Tour, and was the 22nd edition of the Tour du Rwanda.^[1]

Teams

Seventeen teams started the race. Each team had a maximum of five riders:^[2]

UCI WorldTeams

UCI Professional Continental Teams

UCI Continental Teams

NiCe–Ethiopia Cycling Team

National Teams

Algeria
Cameroon
Eritrea
France U23
Kenya
Rwanda

Route

Stage characteristics and winners^[3]^[4]
Stage	Date	Course	Distance		Stage winner
1	24 February	Kigali to Kigali	111.8 km (69.5 mi)	Hilly stage	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)
2	25 February	Kigali to Huye	120.3 km (74.8 mi)	Medium mountain stage	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)
3	26 February	Huye to Rubavu	213.1 km (132.4 mi)	Mountain stage	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)
4	27 February	Rubavu to Karongi	103 km (64 mi)	Mountain stage	Edwin Ávila (Colombia)
5	28 February	Karongi to Musanze	138.7 km (86.2 mi)	Mountain stage	Biniam Girmay (ERI)
6	1 March	Musanze to Nyamata	120.5 km (74.9 mi)	Medium mountain stage	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Poland)
7	2 March	Nyamata to Kigali	84.2 km (52.3 mi)	Hilly stage	Yakob Debesay (ERI)
8	3 March	Kigali to Kigali	66.8 km (41.5 mi)	Hilly stage	Rodrigo Contreras (Colombia)
Total		958.4 km (595.5 mi)

Stages

Stage 1

Stage 1 result^[5]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)		2h 41' 32"
2	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
3	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Poland)		s.t.
4	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		s.t.
5	Salim Kipkemboi (Kenya)	Kenya	s.t.
6	Simon Guglielmi (France)	France U23	s.t.
7	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
8	Bryan Nauleau (France)		s.t.
9	Patrick Byukusenge (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Nikita Stalnov (Kazakhstan)		s.t.

General classification after Stage 1^[5]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)		2h 41' 32"
2	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
3	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Poland)		s.t.
4	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		s.t.
5	Salim Kipkemboi (Kenya)	Kenya	s.t.
6	Simon Guglielmi (France)	France U23	s.t.
7	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
8	Bryan Nauleau (France)		s.t.
9	Patrick Byukusenge (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	s.t.
10	Nikita Stalnov (Kazakhstan)		s.t.

Stage 2

Stage 2 result^[6]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		3h 02' 17"
2	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Poland)		+ 2"
3	Biniam Girmay (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
4	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		s.t.
5	Rodrigo Contreras (Colombia)		s.t.
6	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		s.t.
7	Simon Guglielmi (France)	France U23	s.t.
8	Mulu Hailemichael (Ethiopia)		s.t.
9	Samuel Mugisha (RWA)		s.t.
10	Yuriy Natarov (Kazakhstan)		s.t.

General classification after Stage 2^[6]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		5h 43' 49"
2	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Poland)		+ 2"
3	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		s.t.
4	Simon Guglielmi (France)	France U23	s.t.
5	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)		s.t.
6	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
7	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
8	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		s.t.
9	Bryan Nauleau (France)		s.t.
10	Samuel Mugisha (RWA)		s.t.

Stage 3

Stage 3 result^[7]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		5h 21' 15"
2	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 15"
3	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		+ 43"
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 58"
5	Rodrigo Contreras (Colombia)		+ 8' 02"
6	Henok Mulubrhan (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 9' 27"
7	Nikita Stalnov (Kazakhstan)		s.t.
8	Jeremy Bellicaud (France)		+ 9' 34"
9	David Lozano (Spain)		+ 9' 52"
10	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		s.t.

General classification after Stage 3^[7]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		11h 05' 04"
2	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 17"
3	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		+ 45"
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 1' 00"
5	Rodrigo Contreras (Colombia)		+ 8' 04"
6	Nikita Stalnov (Kazakhstan)		+ 9' 29"
7	Jeremy Bellicaud (France)		+ 9' 36"
8	Henok Mulubrhan (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 9' 41"
9	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		+ 9' 54"
10	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.

Stage 4

Stage 4 result^[8]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Edwin Ávila (Colombia)		2h 37' 32"
2	Pablo Torres (Spain)		s.t.
3	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 3"
4	Samuel Mugisha (RWA)		s.t.
5	David Lozano (Spain)		+ 5"
6	Adrien Guillonnet (France)		s.t.
7	Didier Munyaneza (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	s.t.
8	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)		s.t.
9	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
10	Yuriy Natarov (Kazakhstan)		+ 9"

General classification after Stage 4^[8]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		13h 48' 19"
2	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 17"
3	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		+ 45"
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 1' 00"
5	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 4' 14"
6	Awet Gebremedhin (Sweden)		+ 4' 29"
7	David Lozano (Spain)		+ 4' 40"
8	Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya)	Kenya	+ 4' 56"
9	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 8' 17"
10	Didier Munyaneza (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	s.t.

Stage 5

Stage 5 result^[9]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Biniam Girmay (ERI)	Eritrea	3h 42' 01"
2	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		s.t.
3	Daniel Turek (Czech Republic)		s.t.
4	Didier Munyaneza (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	s.t.
5	Jeremy Bellicaud (France)	France U23	s.t.
6	Moise Mugisha (RWA)	Rwanda	s.t.
7	Adrien Guillonnet (France)		s.t.
8	Geoffrey Langat (Kenya)	Kenya	s.t.
9	Valens Ndayisenga (RWA)	Rwanda	+ 3"
10	Eric Manizabayo (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	+ 47"

General classification after Stage 5^[9]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		17h 33' 37"
2	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 17"
3	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		+ 45"
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 1' 00"
5	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 4' 14"
6	David Lozano (Spain)		+ 4' 40"
7	Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya)	Kenya	+ 4' 56"
8	Didier Munyaneza (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	+ 5' 00"
9	Jeremy Bellicaud (France)	France U23	+ 6' 19"
10	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		+ 6' 37"

Stage 6

Stage 6 result^[10]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Poland)		2h 49' 57"
2	Pablo Torres (Spain)		+ 3"
3	Youcef Reguigui (Algeria)	Algeria	+ 4"
4	Henok Mulubrhan (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
5	Julien Trarieux (France)		s.t.
6	Joonas Henttala (Finland)		s.t.
7	Samuel Mugisha (RWA)		s.t.
8	Valens Ndayisenga (RWA)	Rwanda	s.t.
9	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
10	Bruno Araújo (Angola)		+ 1' 19"

General classification after Stage 6^[10]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		20h 24' 53"
2	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 17"
3	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		+ 45"
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 1' 00"
5	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 4' 14"
6	David Lozano (Spain)		+ 4' 40"
7	Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya)	Kenya	+ 4' 56"
8	Didier Munyaneza (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	+ 5' 00"
9	Valens Ndayisenga (RWA)	Rwanda	+ 5' 35"
10	Jeremy Bellicaud (France)	France U23	+ 6' 19"

Stage 7

Stage 7 result^[11]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	2h 12' 35"
2	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)		+ 21"
3	Adrien Guillonnet (France)		s.t.
4	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	s.t.
5	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 24"
6	Mulu Hailemichael (Ethiopia)		+ 26"
7	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		s.t.
8	David Lozano (Spain)		s.t.
9	Moise Mugisha (RWA)	Rwanda	+ 38"
10	Aurélien Doleatto (France)	France U23	+ 43"

General classification after Stage 7^[11]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		22h 38' 21"
2	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 7"
3	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		+ 18"
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 31"
5	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 3' 42"
6	David Lozano (Spain)		+ 4' 13"
7	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 5' 50"
8	Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya)	Kenya	+ 6' 41"
9	Didier Munyaneza (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	+ 6' 47"
10	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		+ 6' 53"

Stage 8

Stage 8 result^[12]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Rodrigo Contreras (Colombia)		1h 33' 10"
2	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		+ 1' 06"
3	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)		s.t.
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		s.t.
5	Mulu Hailemichael (Ethiopia)		s.t.
6	Adrien Guillonnet (France)		s.t.
7	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		s.t.
8	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 1' 09"
9	Jeremy Bellicaud (France)	France U23	s.t.
10	Valens Ndayisenga (RWA)	Rwanda	+ 1' 12"

Classification leadership table

Stage	Winner	General classification	Sprints classification	Mountains classification	Young rider classification	Teams classification
1	Alessandro Fedeli	Alessandro Fedeli	Bonaventure Uwizeyimana	Rohan du Plooy	Alessandro Fedeli
2	Merhawi Kudus	Merhawi Kudus	Timothy Rugg	Pablo Torres	Joseph Areruya
3	Merhawi Kudus		Merhawi Kudus	Rohan du Plooy	Jérémy Bellicaud
4	Edwin Ávila		Rohan du Plooy	Pablo Torres	Yakob Debesay
5	Biniam Girmay			Moise Mugisha	Didier Munyaneza
6	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz				Didier Munyaneza	Eritrea
7	Yakob Debesay				Yakob Debesay
8	Rodrigo Contreras			Yakob Debesay	Yakob Debesay
Final		Merhawi Kudus	Rohan du Plooy	Yakob Debesay	Yakob Debesay	Eritrea

Classifications

Final general classification^[12]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		24h 12' 37"
2	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		+ 10"
3	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		+ 18"
4	Hernán Aguirre (Colombia)		+ 31"
5	Sirak Tesfom (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 4' 04"
6	David Lozano (Spain)		+ 4' 50"
7	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 6' 51"
8	Suleiman Kangangi (Kenya)	Kenya	+ 7' 05"
9	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		+ 7' 10"
10	Rodrigo Contreras (Colombia)		+ 7' 11"

Final sprints classification^[12]

Rank	Rider	Team	Points
1	Rohan du Plooy (South Africa)	ProTouch Sports	26
2	Timothy Rugg (United States)		16
3	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	10
4	Moise Mugisha (RWA)	Rwanda	8
5	Bonaventure Uwizeyimana (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	6
6	Adrien Guillonnet (France)		5
7	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		4
8	Julien Trarieux (France)		4
9	Perrig Quéméneur (France)		4
10	Przemysław Kasperkiewicz (Poland)		3

Final mountains classification^[12]

Rank	Rider	Team	Points
1	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	80
2	Moise Mugisha (RWA)	Rwanda	72
3	Adrien Guillonnet (France)		51
4	Pablo Torres (Spain)		42
5	Rodrigo Contreras (Colombia)		41
6	Mulu Hailemichael (Ethiopia)		38
7	Merhawi Kudus (ERI)		26
8	Samuel Mugisha (RWA)		23
9	Matteo Badilatti (Switzerland)		16
10	Rein Taaramäe (Estonia)		14

Final youth classification^[12]

Rank	Rider	Team	Time
1	Yakob Debesay (ERI)	Eritrea	24h 19' 28"
2	Joseph Areruya (RWA)		+ 19"
3	Jeremy Bellicaud (France)	France U23	+ 1' 16"
4	Henok Mulubrhan (ERI)	Eritrea	+ 2' 41"
5	Mulu Hailemichael (Ethiopia)		+ 6' 37"
6	Alessandro Fedeli (Italy)		+ 7' 44"
7	Samuel Mugisha (RWA)		+ 8' 28"
8	Eric Manizabayo (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	+ 11' 35"
9	Didier Munyaneza (RWA)	Benediction Cycling Team	+ 12' 10"
10	John Kariuki (Kenya)	Kenya	+ 17' 31"

Final teams classification^[12]

Rank	Team	Time
1	Eritrea	72h 49' 16"
2		+ 2' 53"
3		+ 6' 33"
4		+ 10' 23"
5		+ 43' 02"
6	Benediction Cycling Team	+ 46' 23"
7	Kenya	+ 51' 16"
8	France U23	+ 1h 02' 06"
9		+ 1h 09' 21"
10		+ 1h 20' 08"

References

^ "2019 Tour du Rwanda". ProCyclingStats. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
^ "2019 Tour of Rwanda - Startlist". FirstCycling. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
^ "2019 Tour of Rwanda". FirstCycling. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
^ "Tour du Rwanda 2019". Cycling News. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
^ "Fedeli claims Tour du Rwanda opener". Cycling News. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
^ "Kudus seizes lead in Tour du Rwanda". Cycling News. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
^ "Kudus claims back-to-back stages in Tour du Rwanda". Cycling News. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
^ "Avila wins stage 4 in Tour du Rwanda". Cycling News. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
^ "Girmay claims stage 5 in Tour du Rwanda". Cycling News. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
^ "Kasperkiewicz wins stage 6". Cycling News. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
^ "Tour du Rwanda: Yakob Debesay wins stage 7". Cycling News. Retrieved 30 March 2019.
^ "Kudus wins 2019 Tour du Rwanda". Cycling News. Retrieved 11 March 2019.