{"id":47174,"date":"2025-11-21T20:32:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-21T20:32:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/?p=47174"},"modified":"2025-11-21T20:32:32","modified_gmt":"2025-11-21T20:32:32","slug":"algeria-sweep-podium-as-rwanda-celebrate-at-cac-championships-in-diani","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/algeria-sweep-podium-as-rwanda-celebrate-at-cac-championships-in-diani\/","title":{"rendered":"Algeria sweep podium as Rwanda celebrate at CAC Championships in Diani"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Algeria\u2019s green, white and red flag was dominant on Friday as the \u201cDesert Foxes\u201d mauled the opposition, sweeping the podium in the Youth Men\u2019s 42-kilometre road race at the 19th<\/sup> CAC Road Cycling African Championships in Diani, Kwale County.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After missing out on the titles in other races staged here so far, Algeria was the surprise winner with podium sweep led by \u200eSaad Bechelaghem, who won gold in one hour, five minutes and 18 seconds, followed closely compatriots Abdellah Allal (1:07:00) and Ilyes Ahmed Gagueche sealing the medals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With no country winning double gold on Friday, Algeria set the record.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the junior women\u2019s 28-kilometre road race, Rwanda\u2019s Donatha Akimana stormed to victory for her nation\u2019s first title here when she stopped the timer at 44:51.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was followed by Egyptian Joudy El Sayed (47:05) and Zimbabwe\u2019s Olivia Beamish (50:15).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200e\u201cI am so happy. The race went really well for me. When I left Rwanda, my target was to come back with gold. When I get home and show the country my gold medal, everyone will be proud. That will be a good feeling,\u201d she said, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Making her debut at a major continental event, the 16-year-old revealed that she felt no pressure and only grew stronger as the kilometres ticked by.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200e\u200e\u201cThe kilometres were not many, it was shorter than what I do in training. I normally do 40km. Next year it\u2019s all about doing more races to sharpen myself,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mauritius won the Mixed Relay, the second gold for the nation in the opening race, competing in the 28km event. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After completing the 28km, they clocked 35:24.11 after blends power and synergy, with three men and three women taking on the same circuit in a relay format. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The team made up of De Comarmond Aurelien, Mayer Henry Alexandre, Raboude Jeremy, De Marigny lagesse Lucie, Halbwachs Aurelie and Lamusse Raphaelle combined together for the gold. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200e\u200eThe men were the first on the romp followed by women on the same 14km loop by sharing the finish line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Silver medal went Rwanda who stopped the clock at 35:24.42 with Algeria sealing bronze in 36:17.53.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comarmond said the team arrived in Diani with victory in their mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComing into this race we wanted to win, but we knew the other countries were super strong.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200e\u201cWe won by a small gap, so it shows just how tight the competition was. Rwanda was really strong and they had some good cyclists.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200eAt the same time, Rwanda\u2019s Nirere Xaverine said they had lined up fully intent on chasing gold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200e\u200e\u201cOur plan was to win, but we finished second. Being on the podium is also good for us. We had prepared for a month before coming to the African Championships,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the second race, Ethiopian Tsige bagged her second gold medal junior women\u2019s category when she won in stopped the clock at 2:02:58, outsprinting Rwanda\u2019s Yvonne Masengesho and compatriot Kssnet Grmay Gebreslasse, who settled for silver and bronze, respectively.\u200e<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200eHer triumph added to Thursday\u2019s masterclass in the Junior Women\u2019s Individual Time Trial (ITT), where she tore through the coastal humidity to clock 19:59.09, beating Eritrea\u2019s Tesfu Adyam (20:09.80) and Rwanda\u2019s Masengesho (20:30.22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI had already planned to win gold today. My target was to secure both gold medals. Since yesterday, the weather conditions have been hot and very challenging,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200eBoth Tsige and Gebreslasse, who train together, are eyeing a broader horizon as they prepare to take their African dominance to European circuits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u200eMasengesho said that silver was a redemption ride after her bronze in the ITT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The young Rwandan is already steering her ambitions toward the next continental showdown.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Algeria\u2019s green, white and red flag was dominant on Friday as the \u201cDesert Foxes\u201d mauled the opposition, sweeping the podium in the Youth Men\u2019s 42-kilometre road race at the 19th CAC Road Cycling African Championships in Diani, Kwale County. After missing out on the titles in other races staged here so far, Algeria was the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":47158,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2353,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-other-sports"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Kenya-cyclists-Sharon-Cheruiyot-and-Mercy-jepkorir-Eragae.jpg?fit=1020%2C680&ssl=1?v=1763636256","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p92Nno-cgS","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47174"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47174\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47158"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailysport.co.ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}