Polti Kometa 2nd best Team in the Tour du Rwanda, with Restrepo 3rd and Gomez 6th in final GC

The first African race in Polti Kometa‘s history ends with two GC top-10s: Jhonatan Restrepo reaches the podium behind Blackmore and Dostiyev; Germán Gomez is sixth overall. To cap it all off, the second place in the team standings: a result made possible also by the contributions of Andrea Garosio and Manuel Peñalver.

Tour du Rwanda final stage, only 73 kilometers long but challenging, provided a taste of what the 2025 World Championship circuit in the capital city will be like. The four riders led by sports director Biagio Conte worked in the peloton to catch three escapees on Mount Kigali; then, on the descent, the young Englishman from Israel Premier Tech attacked and soloed to legitimize his yellow jersey.

Behind the winner, the two Colombians from Polti Kometa and the other GC contenders fought for positions in the final two paved uphill kilometers: Restrepo finished 4th in this sprint, so 5th on the stage and third in the general classification; Gomez was 11th on the stage and 6th overall.

This is the satisfaction of Biagio Conte, concluding his first 2024 race: “We feared this route with double circuit, climb and cobblestones, but we managed to maintain a steady pace and stayed compact until the slopes allowed it. A strong talent won, we are satisfied with a beautiful performance and we know we’ve built well for the upcoming commitments. Now we go to Italy and important one-day races await us.”

And here is the extensive analysis of 29-year-old Restrepo: “I struggled on Mount Kigali and when Blackmore escaped, I found less collaboration than expected for the chase. However, the good sensations I had this week are comforting, I am happy to have won a stage and to have performed so well both as individuals and as a team. We return to Europe with almost 200 points in the bag and that’s very important, also because we mustn’t forget how much we missed Javier Serrano, who had to retire on the third raceday and whose push would have helped us a lot to arrive fresher in the finals. In March, the level will rise considerably, so I’ll work even harder already thinking about the Tirreno-Adriatico: I’m focused, going to take care of every detail in my preparation and try to lose a kilo. I want to thank the whole team for the affection and care that I never lack, the sponsors who allow us to carry out our activity, and here at the Tour du Rwanda I would like to mention director Conte, doctor Giulio Tempesti, physiotherapist Simone Zanatta, mechanic Jaime Beltrán, and in general coach Carlos Barredo and the whole staff, starting with the Contador brothers and Ivan Basso.”