Rolling out of the start house at 11 a.m. on Sunday morning in Kigali, Olivier Le Court de Billot (Mauritian National Team) made history as the first Mauritian to start the Tour of Rwanda. The 24-year-old was also the first rider to start the 3.3km prologue around the Amaroo Stadium and duly slotted into the hot seat as the virtual race leader.
While favoured by the early start, the time of Le Court de Billot, the brother of former national women's champion Kimberley, held up as he eventually finished in 12th place at 12 seconds to winner Jean Bosco Nsengimana (Rwanda National Team).
"It was short and hard. I like the type of effort so I just gave it my all. It was a bit too flat for me but I still went full gas and I hope it will stay like until the end," Le Court de Billot explained to Cyclingnews after his early-morning effort.
ADVERTISEMENT
"At the finish, I tried to look up and I thought I was in the finish of a Tour de France stage [with the crowd]. It was magic."
In the overall context of the race, the short-and-fast prologue is unlikely to decide the yellow jersey, although the 3.3km course offered a glimpse into which riders have arrived in Kigali in good condition. Le Court de Billot's strengths come to the fore when the roads head uphill, and with a main course of climbing to be served up in the seven road stages, he is hoping to carry his prologue form into the hills.
"For the race, we prepared with the team and we went to the Pyrenees, because I live in France, to train in the mountains," he said. "The time trial I didn't train too much because I didn't have a bike. The team gave me a bike yesterday. The bike suits me well so it was fine."
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2mo9ud4
No comments:
Post a Comment