In a sprint finish, William Junior Lecerf won the fourth stage of the Tour of Rwanda. The young Belgian, who rides for the Soudal Quick-Step development team in this race, beat Colombian Jhonatan Restrepo (Team Polti Kometa) and Frenchman Julien Simon (TotalEnergies) in the sprint. Dutchman Pepijn Reinderink (Soudal – Quick-Step Development Team) defended his lead.
The short fraction, which took place between Karongi and Rubavu, featured 93 kilometers and five categorized climbs, including one (12.5 km at 2.4%) of the first category. The final climb to Rubavu (1.6 km at 6.9%), they faced less than ten kilometers from the finish.
In a crazy first hour, multiple attacks were presented which made it very difficult to establish an early breakaway. Chris Froome (Israel – Premier Tech) was very active, but the four-time Tour de France winner was soon quickly neutralized.
Then it was the turn of Frenchman Pierre Latour (TotalEnergies) to attack, who ventured out alone, but the Soudal Quick-Step development team kept him in check. The Belgian formation took control of the race in the service of leader Pepijn Reinderink and number three overall, William Junior Lecerf.
With 25 kilometers to go, Latour’s lead was still just under a minute, but the Frenchman was joined by a younger compatriot. Ronan Augé, 19, who competes for the Groupama-FDJ development team. In fact, Augé overtook Latour and started the final twenty kilometers alone, with a half-minute lead.
However, it was not enough to stay out of control of the chasing group. In the end the escapee was caught by the group of favorites. In the closing, William Junior Lecerf was the fastest to take the victory. Pácora’ Restrepo had to settle for second place this time.
This Thursday, February 22, the fifth stage of the prestigious African race will be contested, a 13-kilometer individual time trial between Muzanze and Kinigi Kwita Izina, which has a slight incline.
Stage 4 | Karongi – Rubavu (93 km)
| 1 | William Junior Lecerf | Soudal – Quick-Step Devo Team | 2:19:22 |
| 2 | Jhonatan Restrepo | Team Polti Kometa | ,, |
| 3 | Julien Simon | TotalEnergies | ,, |
| 4 | Giacomo Villa | Bingoal WB | ,, |
| 5 | Pepijn Reinderink | Soudal – Quick-Step Devo Team | ,, |
Ranking General
| 1 | Pepijn Reinderink | Soudal – Quick-Step Devo Team | 9:23:34 |
| 2 | William Junior Lecerf | Soudal – Quick-Step Devo Team | ,, |
| 3 | Jhonatan Restrepo | Team Polti Kometa | ,, |
| 4 | Giacomo Villa | Bingoal WB | ,, |
| 5 | Joseph Blackmore | Israel – Premier Tech | ,, |
Fuente: Revista Mundo Ciclístico