In short
| Stage winner | Abdelati SAADOUNE |
 |
David VERDONCK |
 |
Julien GONNET |
 |
Wahab SAWADOGO A. |
 |
Martinien TEGA |
 |
Wahab SAWADOGO A. |
 |
Martinien TEGA |
| » Jerseys' description | |
All classifications
| Stage |
|---|
 |
|
• Individual time |
|
| Overall |
|
|
• Individual time • Individual points • Best team |
Stage by stage
| 1 | Wednesday 25 October | 91 km |
| Ouagadougou > Manga | ||
| 2 | Thursday 26 October | 121 km |
| Manga > (Pô) > Tiébélé | ||
| 3 | Friday 27 October | 140 km |
| Pô > Ouagadougou | ||
| 4 | Saturday 28 October | 129 km |
| Boussé > Ouahigouya | ||
| 5 | Sunday 29 October | 150 km |
| Yako > Ziniaré | ||
| 6 | Tuesday 31 October | 136 km |
| Kokologo > Boromo | ||
| 7 | Wednesday 1 November | 83.5 km |
| Bobo Dioulasso > Banfora | ||
| 8 | Thursday 2 November | 121 km |
| Bobo Dioulasso > Bobo Dioulasso | ||
| 9 | Friday 3 November | 115 km |
| Boromo > (Sabou) > Koudougou | ||
| 10 | Saturday 4 November | 96 km |
| Linoghin > Pouytenga | ||
| 11 | Sunday 5 November | 88 km |
| Loumbila (Barrage) > Ouagadougou | ||
| Total | 1270.5 km | |
The race
Saturday 4 November 2006| stage 10 | Linoghin > Pouytenga - 96 km |  |
 |
|---|
Saadoune, “the Casablanca express’’
Supposed to finish off in a bunched sprint due to the joint will of the Belgian and the Burkina riders, the Tour’s penultimate stage finally went to Abdelati Saadoune, hungry for revenge who managed to change the initial plans of his rivals. After producing a first selection in the first ten kilometres, a second attack with four kilometres to go finished by disgusting his companions in the race lead. David Verdonck who suffered a fall in the eventful final part was strong enough to get quickly back on his bike and keep hold of his yellow jersey.
The film of the stage
Burkina hangs on to its pink jersey
The lessons inflicted by the Belgian team to the different attacking riders since David Verdonck took command of the overall standings seemed to have calmed things down. Even Mickaël Barboza, the ‘bullet’ of the 2006 pack, was a lot quieter than on the previous days, probably well aware that he wouldn’t beat the Belgians and also finding it tougher and tougher to find breakaway companions willing to cooperate. Indeed, no real attempt occurred as the pack reached the first intermediate sprint where one could witness a special Burkina operation to defend Abdul Wahab Sawadogo’s pink jersey, only possession of the Burkina clan this year. Jérémie Ouedraogo, best sprinter of the country was sent out to capture three points with Ivory Coast’s Lokossué claiming second spot ahead of Sawadogo happy with his precious point. At least something that the boys from the Brittany team wouldn’t get!
The pack wants a sprint
The fast pace of a pack under the influence of the Belgians and the Moroccans didn’t leave the slightest possibility for a breakaway attempt. After 70 kilometres of the day’s stage, some adventurers tried to give it a go, in vain… With twenty kilometres to go, a move was launched by Kaboré (Bur), Boissy (Sen) and El Ammoury (Mar). Pattyn (Bel), Sanda (Cam), J.Ouedraogo (Bur), Saadoune (Mar), Abdel Motelbe (Egy) and Rashad (Egy) managed to join in but the will of the pack to see a bunched sprint finish seemed stronger than any attempt.
Morocco on the attack
Ten kilometres away from the finish line, it was indeed difficult to imagine anything else for the final decision. The Burkina Stallions knew that they had a good opportunity to shine in such an exercise, the Belgians had nothing against that and the Brittany riders had already shown that they had enough good riders for the occasion. But it was a totally different story in the minds of the Moroccans. They indeed decided to put on the pressure and pushed harder in order to reduce the main pack. About fifteen riders managed to hang on, including the main actors of the overall.
Saadoune out of breath!
With eight kilometres to go, a fall in the group saw two leaders hit the ground. Verdonck managed to get back up quickly but Tega (Cam), suffering from a knee injury never could move back into that leading group. With five kilometres left only eight riders were still concerned by stage victory. Abdelati Saadoune who still hadn’t forgotten the bad moments he had witnessed during the Boromo stage had a good possibility to get his revenge. Two–time Moroccan time-trial champion, he took off for a tough solo effort on the last four kilometres of the race. Almost out of breath, Saadoune managed to keep enough of a lead on his followers to triumph on the line. It had eventually been a good day for all!
LE MAGAZINE
Jean-Marie Leblanc: “An extra sense to my retirementâ€
A professional rider, a sports journalist working for La Voix du Nord and L’Equipe, director of the Tour de France since 1989, Jean-Marie Leblanc has dedicated his life to cycling. In 2000, invited by Francis Ducreux, one of his former team mates from the Bic team, he discovered the Tour du Faso, an event that was witnessing technical and financial difficulties that were menacing its existence. Seduced by a way of riding that looked a lot like his original values and convinced by the necessity of developing the sport on the African continent, Leblanc committed A.S.O. in a close cooperation with the sporting leaders of Burkina-Faso. Six years later and just a few months away from his retirement, it is on the Tour du Faso that he chose to spend his last moments inside a race.
Jean-Marie Leblanc, you’ve always wanted to share your passion of cycling with the most people possible. To finish your career on the Tour du Faso is quite a symbol.
It means a lot because I have always considered that the Tour de France had the duty to be influential for cycling around the World. By committing ourselves to this race, we were only responding to one of our missions because this cooperation was necessary for African cycling. I am mainly delighted that this event, at its modest level, has created a link between our two communities. One of the nicest symbols is to have brought with us on the Tour de France Michel Bationo, the time keeper of the event. There are also the exchanges that have been possible, in both ways actually: riders like Abdul Wahab Sawadogo who come for training camps in France, a Belgian team that helps in the construction of wells in villages, employees of A.S.O. who commit themselves to this event… Yes, indeed, to finish my career here, far from the spotlights, the crowd and the media gives an extra sense to my retirement.
Is it linked to the way that cycling is done here?
When I find myself on the finishing zones, I witness scenes that really move me. Here, cycling brings a bit of joy. Those are simple and modest satisfactions that remind me of the days when I started cycling as an amateur. Since then, I’ve lived everything: the Indurain years, the doping stories, Armstrong, etc. I can’t compare this with elite cycling because on an athletic level nothing is like a battle between great champions in the final kilometre of a climb in the Alps. But in Africa, we rediscover the values of courage, endurance and fairplay.
What will your retirement be like?
For sure, my passion for cycling won’t disappear with the end of my professional career. I believe that for some occasions that might occur I could still be useful based on two values that I cherish: good sense and honour. To start with, I will take my pen as soon as the 1st of February to write a book on my memories. Then I have planned to spend a day on the side of a road during the Tour de France: alone with my grand children, just to take the time to watch and enjoy.