Tour du Rwanda: Mathijs De Clercq wins stage 4 from early breakaway

Mathijs De Clercq (Soudal-QuickStep Development Team) scored the win on stage 4 of the Tour du Rwanda, surviving from the early breakaway to triumph on the hilly 127km stage.

The 20-year-old Belgian outpaced his German breakaway companion Moritz Kretschy (NSN Development Team) to take the win, though Kretschy does come away with the sizeable consolation prize of the race leadership.

The pair proved the strongest duo from a 16-rider breakaway, which went clear early in the day, a stage featuring five classified climbs and 2,500 metres of elevation.

Riders including Merhawi Kudus (Eritrea) and Finlay Tarling (NSN Development Team) were also in the move, which at one point had five minutes on the peloton, but it was De Clercq and Kretschy who went clear late in the day.

Further back, race leader Jurgen Zomermaand (Development Team Picnic-PostNL) wouldn't make it to the end of the stage, abandoning the race. De Clercq, meanwhile, surged on to victory as Kretschy, satisfied with his new yellow jersey. Mauro Cuylits (Lotto-Groupe Wanty) rounded out the podium, rolling home behind the leading duo.

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