KIGALI -- Spanish cyclist Cristian Martin Rodriguez won the Tour du Rwanda international cycling competition that concluded Sunday in Kigali.

Rodriguez riding for France's Total Direct Energie won the tight race with 22 hours, 49 minutes and 51 seconds. He also won stage 8 and final stage of the 13th edition of the Tour du Rwanda with 2 hours, 5 minutes and 6 seconds.

"I am so excited to have won Tour du Rwanda 2021. I have been participating in this competition and managing to win at the stage level only. This is an incredible feeling standing here on top of the podium after such a grueling race," Rodriguez told reporters after winning the race.

His commitment, hard work and passion for cycling played a key role in winning the cycling race.

A total of 75 riders from 24 countries covered a distance of 913.3 kilometers in eight stages starting from May 2. Piccoli James riding for Israel Start-Up Nation finished second with 22 hours, 50 minutes, 8 seconds.

"The cycling race has been incident-free despite happening in challenging circumstances of COVID-19 pandemic. We thank the organizers of this event as well as the riders who took part in the competition for making it happen," said Abdallah Murenzi, president of the Rwanda Cycling Federation.

This year is the third time that the Tour du Rwanda is held under the UCI 2.1 category since its upgrade from 2.2 in 2019.