Jonathan Vervenne secured the first leader's jersey at the 2024 Tour du Rwanda after his squad, the Soudal-QuickStep Devo Team, won the opening team time trial in Kigali on Sunday.
“The boys had a very good preparation ahead of this race and were really motivated for this stage," said the team's sports director, Kevin Hulsmans.
The five-rider team included Vervenne along with Jelle Harteel, Jan Kino, William Junior Lecerf and Pepijn Reinderink, who crashed during the race.
"They started out well, with some strong pacing and a good tempo, overcame with ease the tricky points on the course and had a very smooth ride. Despite the crash of Pepijn, they won by a comfortable margin, and this makes us very proud and confident for the next stages."
Soudal-QuickStep Devo Team won the 18.3km team time trial with a winning time of 20:32, beating the runner-up team, Israel-Premier Tech, by 36 seconds and the third-placed team, Lotto Dstny Development Team, by 52 seconds.
While the team time trial did not count toward the general classification, the leader's jerseys for each classification were awarded at the post-race podium ceremony.
The race continues with stage 2's 129.4km race from Muhanga to Kibeho.
#TdRwanda2024 Stage 1Video Highlights#Rwanda https://t.co/HV3TRdH98kFebruary 19, 2024
