What happened in Kigali on Sunday, March 2nd, during the last stage of the Tour du Rwanda? Something attributable to the choice, which appeared quite debatable (to put it mildly), of the Frenchman Doubey, whose presence in the winner's roll of honor for this 2025 edition can only stem from the situation that arose less than 20 km from the finish line.

Indeed, because the Total Energies rider secured this 17th Tour du Rwanda after decidedly forcing the pace: that of protest. Doubey "will not leave a good memory with the public and organizers" summarizes harshly but impeccably L'Equipe.

The Transalpine rider, as clearly seen from live images corroborated by various testimonies from those racing, managed to stop the peloton when just over a lap remained before the conclusion of the race, which took place under the eyes of a UCI delegation.

Yes, the weather had indeed been adverse, making the Mount de Kigali and its namesake wall in the long circuit impracticable due to mud, which will represent the most important climb at mid-race in the upcoming world championships. After a collective crash involving thirty riders had prompted the organization to wait for the road to dry, the yellow jersey Doubey had already animated a first protest aimed at canceling the race.

At the second attempt, the 31-year-old from Total Energies essentially followed his own will to crystallize the classification situation that had developed up to the eve of a event that had unfolded in an exciting and engaging manner from Sunday, February 23rd to Saturday, March 1st.

Celebrated nonetheless as the triumphant by his Eritrean compatriots, Henok Mulubrhan, second in the general classification with a 6" gap, could only go along with Doubey's forcing, as if the moment that led to the suspension involved extreme conditions preventing the continuation of the race. Under the finish line at the Kigali Convention Center, with one of the four planned laps remaining, the Jury could do nothing but accept the stop, given the situation that had developed, poorly digested primarily by Mulubrhan ("it suited him that there was no classification today" he stated, while the young Belgian from Lotto Milan Donie added: "If we cancel a stage like this, then what would happen in Flanders? A slippery and soaked pavé doesn't mean a race can't be held".

The test event on the world championship route was awaited by UCI and the organizing world championship partners (ASO and Golazo). Indicative was the measure already adopted by the Jury President, who fined Doubey 200 Swiss francs with a strong motivation: "inappropriate and out of place behavior damaging the image of the sport". Further disciplinary actions against the cyclist could now follow.

That said, we must note the words of Tour du Rwanda director Freddy Kamunzinzi ("we never wanted to put riders at risk and have received compliments for the overall organization"), as well as the fact that the International Cycling Union now knows well not to underestimate the indication about best practices (including draining asphalt and special track cleaning) to limit possible inconveniences related to equatorial precipitation, to be taken into account over the course of a week.

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