{"id":120498,"date":"2026-02-24T14:03:45","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three"},"modified":"2026-02-24T14:51:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T14:51:17","slug":"tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three","title":{"rendered":"Tour du Rwanda: How demanding is Stage Three?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>Tuesday, February 24<\/p>\n<p>Stage 3: Huye \u2013 Rusizi (145 km, elevation gain: 3,107 m)<\/p>\n<p>The first two stages of the Tour du Rwanda have delivered thrilling sprint finishes, but Stage Three promises a completely different test\u2014one built for climbers.<\/p>\n<p>From the opening flag in Rukomo to the sprint duels in Rwamagana and Huye, the race has already produced massive competition. Israel\u2019s NSN Development Team continues to set the pace after stage victories from Itamar Einhorn and Pau Soriano Marti\u0301.<\/p>\n<p>Stage Three begins with a 25km stretch from Huye to Nyamagabe before the peloton hits its first major test \u2014 the climb from Kigeme toward Kitabi.<\/p>\n<p>Riders will then enter the demanding terrain of Nyungwe National Park, covering approximately 89 kilometres through one of Rwanda\u2019s most scenic yet punishing landscapes. The high altitude, rolling gradients and twisting roads are likely to stretch the peloton thin.<\/p>\n<p>Midway through the forest, the race crosses into Nyamasheke District before a long 31.4km descent sets up the finale.<\/p>\n<p>But relief will be brief.<\/p>\n<p>A final climb at Bushenge awaits before riders charge toward the finish line in Rusizi, near the shores of Lake Kivu.<\/p>\n<p>With sustained climbs, technical descents and altitude in play, Stage Three is widely expected to create the first significant time gaps in the general classification.<\/p>\n<p>Riders to watch<\/p>\n<p>Eritrean star Henok Mulubrhan is still hunting his first stage win of this year\u2019s edition. Although the opening sprint stages did not fully suit him, he showed sharp form in Huye with a second-place finish.<\/p>\n<p>The mountainous profile could play directly into his strengths, especially as the current Best African Rider.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Rwanda\u2019s Eric Manizabayo, popularly known as \u201cKaradiyo,\u201d is another name to watch. Renowned for his climbing ability, he could thrive if the race explodes in the mountains and smaller groups form over the ascents.<\/p>\n<p>Stage Three may well mark the moment when the battle for overall glory truly begins.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Rwanda<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Rwanda. Tuesday, February 24 Stage 3: Huye \u2013 Rusizi (145 km, elevation gain: 3,107 m) The first two stages of the Tour du Rwanda have delivered thrilling sprint finishes, but Stage Three promises a completely different test\u2014one built for climbers. From the opening flag in Rukomo to the sprint duels in Rwamagana and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":120497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,18],"tags":[9458,5409,924,758,3562],"class_list":["post-120498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-sport","tag-benediction-banafrica-team","tag-bpr-bank-rwanda","tag-cycling","tag-rwanda","tag-tour-du-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Tour du Rwanda: How demanding is Stage Three? - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Tuesday, February 24 Stage 3: Huye \u2013 Rusizi (145 km, elevation gain: 3,107 m) The first two stages of the Tour du Rwan ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tour du Rwanda: How demanding is Stage Three?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tuesday, February 24 Stage 3: Huye \u2013 Rusizi (145 km, elevation gain: 3,107 m) The first two stages of the Tour du Rwan ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T14:03:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-24T14:51:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1771931978.277254.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Tour du Rwanda: How demanding is Stage Three?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-24T14:03:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-24T14:51:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three\"},\"wordCount\":336,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2026\/02\/sm_1771931978.277254.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Benediction BanAfrica Team\",\"BPR Bank Rwanda\",\"Cycling\",\"Rwanda\",\"Tour du Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Sport\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sport\/tour-du-rwanda-how-demanding-is-stage-three\",\"name\":\"Tour du Rwanda: How demanding is Stage Three? 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