Egypt was the host country for the 18th CAC Road African Championships.
Cyclists from all over Africa made their way to Sharm El Sheikh in March 2022 for the Road African Championships.
On Sunday 27 March, the men lined up for the event finale - the men's road race.
73 riders from 17 nations attended the race.
Distance: 150km (96 miles)
Average speed: 41kph (25.5mph)
The hosts, Egypt were out in force, alongside prominent cycling nations like South Africa, Eritrea, Rwanda and Algeria.
The first 2hr of the race was ridden at a frenzied pace as riders attempted to breakaway from the main group of riders on the 20 km course. The wide roads made it impossible to control the race.
But something had to give eventually.
And soon after the two-hour mark, a breakaway formed made up of 12 of the best riders in Africa.
The elite group comprised of riders from Eritrea, South Africa, Algeria and Morocco - every other nation missed out - notably team Rwanda.
The breakaway combined well and quickly established a sizeable lead between themselves and the chasing peloton. The gap quickly extended to over three minutes.
After 3hrs of racing the peloton gave up the chase.
The winner was going to come from the breakaway.
With one lap to go, Algeria, who had five riders in the breakaway, got to work on the front in an attempt to further reduce the group and dislodge South African sprinter Renardht Van Rensburg and Eritrean sprinter Henok Muluebrenan. The strategy worked in so far as it, reduced the breakaway from 12 to 8. Henok was now isolated from his countrymen.
As the breakaway approached the 1km mark, the Algerians took the lead in hope of delivering young Amari Hamza to victory. However, Henok and Van Rensburg had other ideas with 250 meters to go. Henok had a welcoming party of Eritreans waiting to embrace him at the finish line. This was his party and he did not disappoint as he powered through the middle to take a popular win.
1st - Henok Muluebrenan (Eritrea)
2nd - Renardht Van Rensburg (South Africa)
3rd - Amari Hamza (Algeria)
7 апр 2022
