The Rwandan Epic bike race kicks off with an impressive start

German cyclists Daniel Gathof and Bart Classens of the Shift Up For Rwanda 1 team made an impressive start to the 2023 Rwandan Epic mountain bike race, as they forged an incredible partnership and successfully won the Duo Men Kigali -Kigali prologue of the race which started in Kigali capital on Tuesday.

The duo won the 9km race in 27 minutes and 11 seconds, followed by Kenyan duo Joseph Bobby and Ndung’u Wa Keiya of Team 48, who clocked 29 minutes and 2 seconds.

In the Duo Women category, Rwandan cyclists Diane Ingabire and Valentine Nzayisenga of Team Rwanda won the race in 51 minutes and 55 seconds.

In the Duo Mixed category, Belgian cyclists Melanie Bourgeoui and William Rauw of Team Les Baroudeurs won the race in 41 minutes and 19 seconds, followed by Swedish Johan Kalfas and Anna Kalfas of Team Kalfas in second place, who used 44 minutes and 50 seconds.

In the Solo Men category, Belgian Olivier Mahieu was victorious in 29 minutes and 53 seconds, while Rwandan cyclist Violette Neza won the Solo Women category with 44 minutes and 9 seconds.

“We are very happy with the first stage prologue. The weather was good and we had an exciting race. Most importantly, we had no major crashes, and everyone finished,” said Simon De Schutter, one of the organizers at the event.

He added that the race will be exciting in the coming stages in the coming days as there is a big battle ahead for the competing cyclists.

According to him, the race will also be an opportunity to explore Rwanda’s tourist attractions as it cuts across the country.

The event attracted top athletes and fit amateurs from around the world. This year’s edition will see mountain bikers ride from Kigali to Musanze and finally to Rubavu covering 284km.

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