Ndayisenga goes down fighting in Tour of Rwanda title defence
In 2016, Valens Ndayisenga stamped his authority on the Tour of Rwanda by winning the penultimate stage and cementing his second overall victory. 12-months on from his storming ride up the 'Wall of Kigali', a 500-metre pavé climb with pitches of 18 per cent, the Tirol rider could only watch on as his former team, Dimension Data for Qhubeka, blew the race to pieces to virtually seal the 2017 edition on stage 6.
Just like stage 4 into Nyamata this year, it was Metkel Eyob and Joseph Areruya, in the green and yellow jerseys, celebrating the win. Mobbed by the crowds as he crossed the line at the Stade Régional Nyamirambo finish, 24-year-old Ndayisenga improved his position overall by one place to sixth.
"It was a very good stage for us but also hard. The last three k's were very hard but I used all the power I had. I lose by ten seconds or 15 seconds but I do what I can do," Ndayisenga told Cyclingnews with his hopes of becoming the first rider to defend his title now extinguished.
The Tour of Rwanda has been Ndayisenga's most successful race of his young career. A stage winner on his 2013 debut, Ndayisenga returned the next year to claim a second stage and his first overall win. The 2015 edition was less of a success, and he left the race before stage 5. Returning last year having inked his first Continental contract with Dimension Data for Qhubeka, Ndayisenga rode into yellow on stage 2 via solo victory in Karongi.
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Ndayisenga then sealed his overall win by taking the 'Wall of Kigali' stage ahead of then-teammate Eyob. Asked to compare the differences between this year and last, there was little hesitation from Ndayisenga in his answer.
"This Tour of Rwanda is different to last year. It was hard but this is harder than last year," he said, adding "This year he [Areruya] is looking very strong."
With a 10-lap circuit of 12 kilometres to come Sunday in Kigali, anything but an overall win for Areruya would be a surprise result. The 21-year-old has finished no lower than 10th across the seven stages of racing and holds a 35 seconds advantage over Eyob.
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