Final laps over Mur de Kigali bring thrilling Tour du Rwanda to a close

What an eight-days of racing it has been at this year’s Tour du Rwanda. There’s been a little something of everything, torrential rain, scorching sunshine, brutal climbs, flying finishing straights, crashes, abandons, top 20’s and battles to the line. What a week. What a place. Above all…WHAT FANS!

At times it seemed like the whole country had come out to watch the race fly by along the roadside. Seas of colour and smiles. A chorus of cheers and applause. How cycling should be when it’s stripped back to its roots.

For Team Novo Nordisk, to come and race here in Rwanda to drive change in diabetes and raise health awareness, the positive effect of inspiration is very real and not just for the world’s first all diabetes professional cycling team, but for the whole peloton.

Peter Kusztor (HUN):

“After the previous seven days of racing today’s stage felt like it as a lot longer. It was only a short stage but repeated laps over the Mur de Kigali made it very hard and our bodies are tired, but we raced very well today.”

“We were organized and finished in the top 20 and David was right up there with me too. Lucas has been wonderful here, every stage working hard for us, bringing bottles, trying to keep myself and David positioned well, and he has gotten stronger every day.”

“This race has been a great experience for us, super hard, but also very enjoyable and to start my season off in this way has been great. I’ll definitely reap the benefits of this kind of racing in the coming weeks. I love Rwanda and I won’t ever forget this race or the people, I told my wife we need to come back here as a family and I would love for my kids to come and experience this special place.”

Sport director Gennady Mikhaylov (RUS):

“It’s been a great experience coming here and being a part of the Tour du Rwanda. We’ve had our difficulties with injuries before the race and losing Umberto for the last couple of stage made it hard, but the guys really dug in and our team spirit and work ethic has been phenomenal.”

“For David and Peter, it was their first race of the season and it’s a hard place to start, but they are both experienced guys with a good block of winter training behind them and you could see them getting stronger every stage.”

“Lucas has also improved as the race went on and he has been vital support for David and Peter, without his good work we would not have been finishing top 20 on a couple of stages and I hope he continues to push on in the same manner for the next races.”