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Merhawi Kudus (C), the winner of the 11th Tour du Rwanda international cycling competition, celebrates the victory in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, on March 3, 2019. (Xinhua/Cyril Ndegeya)

KIGALI, March 3 (Xinhua) -- Eritrean Merhawi Kudus won the Tour du Rwanda international cycling competition that concluded Sunday at Kigali Regional Stadium in Nyamirambo sector in Rwandan capital Kigali.

78 riders from 25 countries covered a distance of 959.1 kilometers in eight stages starting from Feb. 24. Kudus riding for Kazakhstan's Astana Pro Team clocked 24 hours, 12 minutes and 37 seconds to win the race.

Estonian Rein Taaramae riding for France's Direct Energie finished second with 24 hours, 12 minutes, 47.10 seconds.

This is the inaugural competition since Tour du Rwanda was upgraded to 2.1 category race of the International Cycling Union (UCI) from 2.2 category.