Race leader Mugisha not losing focus with two stages remaining in 10th Tour du Rwanda

The sixth stage of the 10th Tour du Rwanda (UCI 2.2) closed with a two-man sprint with Ethiopian Bereket Temalew coming out on top with his first international victory to end German club team Embrace the World’s streak of consecutive stage wins at three. Temalew crossed the line one second ahead of Rwandan Moise Mugisha (Les Amis Sportifs) on picturesque finish inside Parc National de Volcans (Volcanoes National Park) in Musanze.

“I’ve learned a lot since the beginning of the race,” said Temalew. “I had to adapt because I’m not used to these great competitions yet. Today, I took the opportunity because we decided to be on the attack on this stage with a difficult arrival but that I appreciate very much. ”

However the crowd’s attention quickly turned toward half a dozen riders on GC still 2 minutes 44 seconds away.

After missing an early split on Stage 3 that cost race leader and previous stage winner Samuel Mugisha valuable time on general classification, the Rwandan national team has been on high alert thanks to the firm guidance of team sports director Sterling Magnell.

“Today there was only one who was dangerous on the GC, but nothing changed,” the yellow jersey told Eurosport referring to Stage 1 winner Azzedine Lagab (Groupement Sportif Des Petroliers), who climbed to fourth overall (+0:43) after a fourth-place finish behind South African Jayde Julius on the day. “I look forward to tomorrow and maybe I can get more time.”

The 20-year-old Mugisha, who also races for WorldTour development team Dimension Data for Qhubeka which did not start this year, is aware with a 21-second lead over his nearest rival and fellow countryman Jean-Claude Uwizeye (POC Côte de Lumière ) and 24 over Ethiopian national Mulu Hailemichael an overall race win is still not a guarantee.

“In the race something can change,” he said. “We still have to control the race and watch the guys for the GC.”

One man who will not let the team rest on its laurels is Rwanda sports director Sterling Magnell. The former pro cyclist from America was not pleased with his team’s failure to make the split on day three, and has made it a point to ensure that mental lapses do not repeat.

“It’s always interesting, always educational what happens out on the road,” Magnell explained to Eurosport. “We’ve clarified a few things, especially within the national team, and that’s been really good for the boys. They are starting to really understand each other and their tactics much better.

“There are some different things happening on the road, so we are trying different things,” he continued. “We have a [21-second] gap and those two trips up the ‘Wall of Kigali’ on Sunday will be really interesting.”

Magnell assures the team is not sitting up with two stages to go in the eight-stage UCI Africa Tour road race, which is stepping up to 2.1 classification in 2019.

“I’m on them all the time,” he said. “This is time to focus, time to work — no messing around. No one is having a party or visiting family. We are focused to the end.”