Sam Coleman has told stickybottle he is relishing in the new opportunity of racing among a pro field at Tour du Rwanda, a race he describes as "a different beast".
"You can really start to feel the heat and the altitude kick in here," he explained. "I came into it thinking 'it won't be that bad'. But whenever you're sitting at 350 watts it's feeling like 450. But I'm learning, learning every day and improving day by day, so it's been a great experience so far."
Coleman got off to a great start on Sunday when he placed 11th in the prologue TT; a real confidence booster for the 19-year-old in his first year out of the juniors and now racing with Israel Premier Tech. But he has also made key contributions, especially on today's stage 2, ending in a 1-2 for the team.
Advertisement
"It's been a mega experience so far. It's only three days deep but I've probably learned more in these three days with the Israel Premier Tech guys than I have since I started cycling about 10 years ago now."
He said he surprised himself in the opening prologue and was very happy with his performance.
"I didn't really expect to be anywhere near the top 10, and to come 11th in that was a good confidence booster. It kind of showed that I belong at this level."
Coleman added his team had gone into the race with "big expectations" and thinking of nothing less than winning. The opening road stage on Monday was "a bit of a stalemate" as Lotto had the leader's jersey after the prologue, opting to control the race.
The contest ended with five small kickers and Coleman said his job for the day was to bring the team into the base of the last kicker, which he was able to do.
Related News
Some of his team mates then got boxed in, though Rotem Tene came away with 2nd place in a near dead heat with winner Henok Mulubrhan; an XDS Astana World Tour rider racing this week on the Eritrea national team.
Coleman said that stage outcome was "frustrating", but it at least offered evidence his team were among the strongest in the race.
On today's stage 2 - some 112.8km from Kigali to Musanze, including two late climbs - the team hit the jackpot with a 1-2 for Australian Brady Gilmore and Israeli Itamar Einhorn.
"The first climb of the day was quite long, it was a controlled pace, and then on the second hard climb, DSM and UAE were attacking," the Irish teenager said.
Coleman's job was to bring the team sprint talent back into the bunch when they were among the many riders sliding out the back door on the two late climbs.
When the Irish rider, Einhorn and their team mate Rotem Tene were off the back on the penultimate ascent, Coleman went full gas down the other side and managed to bring them back to the field. It was work that would prove decisive for the team's final 1-2 result.
Israel Premier Tech went on to take 1st, 2nd, 4th and 9th today, with a perfect lead-out on the front in the closing stages after Coleman drifted back on the final climb, with his work done for the day.
The eight-stage race continues tomorrow, Wednesday, with 121.3km from Musanze to Rubavu, featuring 2,000m of climbing.
