Henok Mulubrhan wins stage one of Tour du Rwanda 2025 as Fabien Doubey grabs yellow jersey

Henok Mulubrhan, 25, delivered a fabulous sprint to beat a pack that included Rotem Tene and Lorrenzo Manzin to the finish line and win stage one of Tour du Rwanda 2025 on Monday, 24 February.

The Eritrean rider clocked three hours, 57 minutes, and 52 seconds in a 157.8-km circuit, the longest one this year, from Rukomo in Gicumbi district to Kayonza.

Mulubrhan used the same time as the 50 riders who finished behind him in the stage classification. The Tour du Rwanda 2023 winner was also awarded the Best African rider of the stage.

Israel–Premier Tech and TotalEnergies bikers Rotem Tene and Lorrenzo Manzin emerged second and third, respectively.

Rwanda’s Patrick Byukusenge, who rides for Java-Inovotec Pro Team, came in 13th position, while Jeremie Ngendahayo and Vainquer Masengesho of May Stars and Team Rwanda finished 17th and 21st, respectively.

Israel–Premier Tech and TotalEnergies was awarded as the Best Team of the stage.

Fabien Doubey, riding for TotalEnergies, snatched the yellow jersey although he finished 31st today, thanks to his second finish in an individual time trial stage on Sunday. The French cyclist has used four hours, one minute, and 43 seconds.

Milan Menten of Lotto Development Team is second in the general classification, sitting at the same time as Doubey. TotalEnergies rider Joris Delbove sit in third place, one second adrift of Doubey.

Rwandan riders Masengesho and Byukusenge are 26th and 27th in the general classification, sitting 21 seconds behind leader Doubey.

The race resumes on Tuesday, 25 February, in a 121.3-km route from Kigali to Musanze, with the riders competing in stage two and hitting the road at 11:00 a.m.

The 17th edition of Tour du Rwanda, which is undergoing in Rwanda from February 23 to 2 March, will cover a total distance of 840.6 kilometres.

Tour du Rwanda has been rated on a 2.1 level in the UCI Africa Tour since 2019. Since then, there was no Rwandan rider has won the race, and Moise Mugisha is the only Rwandan to win a stage, a milestone he accomplished in February 2022 while riding for the South African cycling team, Protouch.

Photo: Henok Mulubrhan started his quest for a second Tour du Rwanda glory brilliantly, winning stage one.