1. Biniyam Ghirmay (Eritrea) – 26:39:36
2. Yves Nkurunziza (Rwanda) – 27:35:55
3. Natan Medhanie (Eritrea) – 27:49:22

1. Desiet Kidane (Eritrea) – 31:30:24
2. Tsadkan Kasahun (Ethiopia) – 33:11:89
3. Zayid Hailu (Ethiopia) – 34:04:29

ERITREANS proved once again their position as African cycling powerhouse on Thursday morning to win gold in both junior men and junior women’s Individual Time Trial (ITT) at the ongoing 13th African Continental Road Championship in Kigali – Rwanda.

Youngster Yves Nkurunziza was the sole home rider to strike a medal, silver, in juniors after finishing second in the male category, 56 seconds behind Eritrea’s Biniyam Ghirmay who clocked 26 minutes, 29 seconds and 36 microseconds to cover the 18.6km of the race. Compatriot Natan Medhanie claimed bronze in 27 minutes, 49 seconds and 22 microseconds.

In junior women’s fray, another Eritrean young cyclist Desiet Kidane bagged a gold medal for the Horn of African nation while Ethiopia’s duo of Tsadkan Kasahun and Zayid Hailu finished second and third to walk away with silver and bronze medals respectively.

Both junior male and female riders in ITT raced to a distance of 18.6 kilometers. The boys had an average speed of 41.8km per hour while their female counterparts rode at an average 35.4km/hour speed.