Jermaine Zemke couldn’t hide his emotion today as he crossed the finish line in Rubavu ahead of Israeli Itamar Einhorn and Eritrean Henok Mulubrhan at Stage 5 in Tour du Rwanda 2026.
At just 20 years old, the young German claimed his first victory in front of two sprinters who usually compete in the World Tour for NSN and XDS-Astana, respectively.
He had already appeared in the standings of the first two stages (7th and 8th) and had gained confidence against this rivals he was not yet familiar with. He was initially listed as a substitute before taking the spot at the last moment of one of his teammates from his German UCI Continental team Rembe-Rad Net, which lived up to the organizers’ invitation for the first time on the Tour du Rwanda.
This 5th stage today run in a circuit through the streets of Rubavu on the shores of Lake Kivu, brought no changes to the general classification where another German, Moritz Kretschy (NSN Development Team), still holds the first place.
