The scene at the finish of Stage 3 of the Tour of Rwanda seemed to tell the story of the day.
There stood NSN Devo Team’s young leader, Pau Martí, head down, shoulders slumped over his bike, breathing heavily and facing a difficult reality: he crossed the line 58 seconds behind stage winner Jurgen Zomermaand, who powered to a solo victory and claimed the leader’s jersey.
But that moment did not tell the whole story — and perhaps not even the most important part of it.
What followed was more meaningful: both young sports directors rushed toward Martí, embracing him and reminding him that the entire team stood behind him.
“You did everything you could,” said Guy Sagiv, who has experienced many difficult moments throughout his own cycling career. “Cycling is not a PlayStation game — you can’t just push a button to fix things when you hit a wall in the middle of a race.”
The talented young Spanish rider hit that wall about 12 kilometers from the finish on what was widely considered the queen stage, featuring more than 3,000 meters of climbing. Until that point, the team had faced repeated attacks, particularly from the Rwanda squad and the aggressive Lotto Development Team, who sent two of their strongest riders up the road to apply relentless pressure.
The NSN riders responded well, with Fin Tarling and Moritz Kretschy covering most of the dangerous moves. But in the decisive moments after Zomermaand attacked solo, Martí realized that his legs were no longer responding.
“In the last climb, I started to feel cramps,” he said. “I just pushed with whatever I had left until the finish, trying to lose as little time as possible.
“I’m quite disappointed because I couldn’t go with the final moves. But I gave my best, and we’re going to try again — I promise that. It wasn’t our best day, but this race is far from over. There are many stages still to come, and nothing is lost.”
Moments after the finish, the focus quickly shifted toward regrouping, as the sports directors began lifting the squad’s morale through individual conversations.
“There’s no denying it — today we learned that we’re not as strong as we expected,” said sports director Lahav Davidzon. “But with a young team, this is exactly the moment to learn how to respond and overcome challenges. That’s our test now: to find a way back. We’re giving up nothing — including our GC ambitions.”