TotalEnergies rider Joris Delbove has seized the most sought-after yellow jersey in the ongoing Tour du Rwanda 2025 after winning stage four on Thursday, 27 February.

The French cyclist, 24, raced the 95.1-kilometre route – from Rubavu to Karongi – in two hours, 27 minutes, and 20 seconds to jump into the lead overall.

Stage two and three winner Brady Gilmore, riding for Israel-Premier Tech, came in second place, three seconds adrift of Delbove, while Eritrea's Henok Mulubrhan emerged third.

Rwandan riders Eric Manizabayo, who rides for Java-Inovotec Pro Team, and Vainqueur Masengesho, riding for Team Rwanda, finished seventh and eighth, respectively, three seconds behind the stage winner. The latter was named the Best Rwandan of stage four.

Delbove tops the overall classification with 12 hours, 24 minutes, and 57 seconds after 490.4 kilometres of four stages and a prologue.

Fabien Doubey, who had the yellow jersey since the first stage on Monday, dropped to second in the general classification, two seconds behind Delbove.

Masengesho still dreams of becoming the first Rwandan rider to win the race since it was rated on a 2.1 level in 2019 as the Team Rwanda rider moved up to ninth spot in the general classification, 29 seconds off the leader.

The race leaves the western province and heads for the southern province for the fifth stage on Friday, 28 February, in a 144-km circuit from Rusizi to Huye.

The 2025 Tour du Rwanda

Stage four results (Top 10):

  1. Joris Delbove (TotalEnergies) 2h 27' 20''
  2. Brady Gilmore (Israel-Premier Tech) +3''
  3. Henok Mulubrhan (Team Eritrea) same time
  4. Lorrenzo Manzin (TotalEnergies) same time
  5. Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies) same time
  6. Enea Sambinello (UAE Team Emirates Gen-z) same time
  7. Eric Manizabayo (Java-Inovotec Pro Team) same time
  8. Vainqueur Masengesho (Team Rwanda) same time
  9. Moise Mugisha (Team Rwanda) same time
  10. Adria Capdevila (UAE Team Emirates Gen-z) same time

General Classification (Top 10):

  1. Joris Delbove (TotalEnergies) 12h 24' 57''
  2. Fabien Doubey (TotalEnergies) +2''
  3. Oliver Mattheis (Bike Aid) +5''
  4. Brady Gilmore (Israel-Premier Tech) +8''
  5. Henok Mulubrhan (Team Eritrea) +12''
  6. Adria Capdevila (UAE Team Emirates Gen-z) +14''
  7. Moritz Kretschy (Israel-Premier Tech) same time
  8. Milan Donie (Lotto Development Team) +18''
  9. Vainqueur Masengesho (Team Rwanda) +29''
  10. Juan Huertas (Development Team Picnic) +30''
WhatsApp Image 2025-02-27 at 5.20.05 PM

Photo: Joris Delbove secured the yellow jersey after winning the 95.1-kilometre stage four in Karongi.

The 2.1-rated race

TDR2025 stage four