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 Saturday 5 November 2005 |
| stage 10Gourcy > Ziniaré - 172 km |
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| Verdonck, fresher than the rest |
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Throughout the longest stage of the Tour, the peloton saved strength, fearing to reach the breaking point. Burkina riders maintained a close watch on their rivals, keeping the yellow jersey on the shoulders of Jeremie Ouedraogo, who still leads his team- mate and best aide Saidou Rouamba by nine seconds. The stage finally went to the fresher riders towards the finish, four men who battled it out for a sprint victory, which went to Verdonck – the second stage win for Belgium In this Tour.
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Puncture for the yellow jersey
The programme was a heavy one and the bunch was tired after a tough stage to Ouahigouya the previous day. Nobody had a real interest in splitting the peloton too early especially as Burkina’s team again sets a steady pace. A group of ten riders still managed to part with the pack after ten kilometres. Tour leader Jeremie Ouedraogo, who punctured, was not in the break. The ten took a decent 1:05 lead at best before being caught shortly before the first intermediate sprint in Yako.
Tireless Sawadogo and Cuylits
Obviously not content with his stage win the day before, Mahamadi Sawadogo was again hyperactive, like Belgian Gunter Cuylits, the other restless rider in this Tour. The two simply launched all the attacks of the day - at kilomtere 66 with Frenchman Philippe Hamache, at kilometre 62 with Benoit Dunet or just the two of them at kilometre 74. At kilometre 89, they joined forces with France’s Franck Boule and Angola’s Vicente Lelo to take a serious one-minute lead. But there was as much talking as pedalling in the break and the four, too busy discussing the pros and cons, were caught at kilometre 95.
No laurels for Thiam
The ride through Ouagadougou, watched by big crowds, spurred the bunch into action. The pace went up and on the outskirts of the capital, a new group of ten took shape. The break only lasted a dozen kilometres, but Senegal’s Abdoulaye Thiam kept going on his own. Twelve kilometres from the finish, Thiam still held a 30 seconds gap over the chase. But despite a brave ride, he was caught four kilometres from the finish by Verdonck and France’s Kauffmann. Exhausted by his solo effort, Thiam had no strength left to stop Verdonck from winning the final sprint.
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When the Tour watches the Tour
The growing interest for cycling on the African continent owes a lot to the Tour de France. In a lot of countries, and especially those taking part in the Tour du Faso, watching the Tour de France has also an important feature of July afternoons, as the world’s biggest race is shown live by TV5 Africa. And as a matter of fact, chats between riders in the evening after the race often deal with the showcase race of world cycling. The opinion of the most devoted cycling fans on the continent, the riders themselves, is far from irrelevant.
The members of all African teams were asked who was their favourite rider in the history of the sport. Their answers showed that the most recent Tour de France winners were more popular than their elders. Lance Armstrong came a solid leader, with 28 votes, followed – as is often the case – by Jan Ullrich on only nine votes. In fourth place, Spain’s Miguel Indurain is the only five times champion to earn more than one vote (5) and was cited mainly by the older riders. Alexander Vinokouruov was fifth with four votes, followed by Laurent Jalabert (3), Richard Virenque (2) and several riders with just one vote: Baden Cooke, Bjarne Riis, Robbie McEwen, Thomas Voeckler, Francisco Mancebo, Ivan Basso, Roberto Heras, Andreas Kloeden, George Hincapie, as well as Bernard Hinault and Eddy Merckx ! If the poll does not pay justice to the most impressive records in the history of cycling, its is probably due to Africa’s only recent interest in the sport, which became a household feature in the late 80s, when the Tour started to be shown on African television.
Riders have also their opinion on who will take over from Armstrong in the next tour. The answers are very logical. Ullrich wins with 27 votes, followed by Ivan Basso on 23. Vinokourov comes third (6) while Michael Rasmussen earns three votes. The next cited are Andreas Kloeden (2), George Hincapie and Yaroslav Popovych.
But the question that really bothers African riders is the future of the sport in their region. Asked when they think an African rider will be able to win a Tour de France stage, most riders were unable to answer straightaway. They are all aware that African cycling has a long way to go and must progress step by step. Training and detection should be improved to help African riders join European, pro teams. The most optimistic do not see it happening before five years at best. Eight riders believe this period of time will be enough for an African Tour de France rider to emerge, 17 believe it will take between six and ten years while 11 set a 15-year target. Twelve riders believe 20 to 30 years will be needed while the most pessimistic said 30 years would not be so bad. Niger’s Abdoul-Salam Zakar said with a mixture of humour and fatalism: “We’ll have to wait for the end the third millennium”
But 100 percent of the other riders hope he is wrong.
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