In short
| Stage winner | Mouhssine LAHSAINI |
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David VERDONCK |
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Julien GONNET |
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Wahab SAWADOGO A. |
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Martinien TEGA |
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Martinien TEGA |
| » Jerseys' description | |
All classifications
| Stage |
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 |
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• Individual time |
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| Overall |
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• 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 |
| PĂ´ > 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
Sunday 5 November 2006| stage 11 | Loumbila (Barrage) > Ouagadougou - 88 km |  |
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How to finish in style
David Verdonck knows what perfect timing is all about. Last year he had decided to end his career after the Tour du Faso. But his coach Herman Beysens convinced him to carry on. Just for one last African adventure. And what a good idea that was; indeed after eleven days of racing, he conquered the yellow jersey, a stage win and gave Belgium its first ever title after competing in ten editions. David Verdonck can now proudly put away his bike. The stage to Ouaga that didn’t worry the yellow jersey did on the other hand pay off for Julien Gonnet who managed to climb up a position to finish third overall. Stage victory however went to Morocco’s Lahsaini who claimed with style his first ever win on the Tour.
The film of the stage
Three for two podium places!
According to tradition, the final stage looks more like a friendly parade before a solid bunched sprint final battle; the circumstances decided otherwise for the final day of the twentieth Tour du Faso. Indeed, the stakes were still important before the start: behind yellow jersey Verdonck, Martinien Tega (Cam), Rachid Bouabib (Mar) and Julien Gonnet (Fra / Bretagne), all fighting to become the best young rider, remained within the same three seconds. In other words the bonus seconds earned at each intermediate sprints would be extremely precious.
Sawadogo takes care of his pink jersey
It was therefore at a fairly fast pace that the pack took off heading to Ouagadougou, leaving slim chances to attackers like Ousmane Compaoré (Bur) or Saïd El Ammoury (Mar) to enjoy a long break in the race lead. However at the entry of the country’s capital and despite the fast rhythm of the three Brittany riders still in the race, Mouhssine Lahsaini (Mar) managed to claim on his own the first intermediate sprint at the first passage on the finish line. Behind Abdul Wahab Sawadogo (Bur) took good care of his pink jersey by capturing second spot just ahead of Julien Gonnet who gained that precious second that virtually gave him third position on the final podium.
Tega defends his position
Mohammed Abduaziz (Egy) and Tsuyoshi Komine (Jap) then led the pack through the streets of Ouaga. For the second intermediate sprint, at the fifth passage on the finish line, Julien Gonnet earned an extra second on his rivals by claiming the bunched sprint. Later on and with things getting more and more serious, Martinien Tega decided to defend his position and took part in the battle for the third intermediate sprint. He eventually won that one and his position as Verdonck’s runner-up looked to be protected.
Lahsaini, Moroccan style
With two laps of the circuit to go before the end of the race, it was time to prepare for stage victory. A group of ten riders managed to break away. All the eyes of the Burkina spectators were of course riveted on Jérémie Ouedraodogo, the only hope to save national honour on this prestigious stage. However, Lahsaini took off with about five kilometres to go, just as his model Abdelati Saadoune had shown him during the stages to Tiébélé and Pouytenga. In a typical Moroccan style, Lahsaini courageously continued his effort and claimed his first ever success in a major international event. Behind, Lionel Syne (Bel), who had forgotten about the presence of the Moroccan in the leading position thought he had won the stage as he lifted his arms to the sky on the line. A gesture that also saluted the final overall victory of his team mate David Verdonck.
LE MAGAZINE
Autopsy of a defeat
Each year the Stallions fight for national honour on the tour du Faso. For the twentieth edition and after Burkina had claimed two consecutive successes thanks to Abdul Wahab Sawadogo and Jérémie Ouedraogo, the local riders failed to capture a single victory. Beaten by the Belgians but also by the riders from Cameroon, Morocco and Brittany in the overall standings, they also missed out on stage wins. Their best representative, Abdul Wahab Sawadogo, finished seventh overall 1’17’’ behind Verdonck, with only the pink jersey as a slim consolation. A reaction has to come in 2007…
A sin of pride
Comforted by their status as the double title holders, the Burkina riders seemed to have neglected the importance of the event, maybe considering that they would comfortably triumph. When speaking to the Stallions, all they can do is blame the sporting authorities: “we didn’t have more than two weeks to prepare for the tour and that of course is not enough for a race as important as this one”, complained Sawadogo. Theoretically the toughness of cycling and its results has the virtue to give its place back to humility as mentioned by Saïdou Rouamba, captain of the Stallions: “basically it’s a good thing. It should now serve us as a lesson so that our preparation is better for next year”. Words of wise man!
Bad luck to blame
The race circumstances didn’t help out the Burkina riders who found themselves in serious trouble as soon as the second stage of the Tour. After the finish in Tiébélé and its very tricky final dirt track, Jérémie Ouedraogo was close to nine minutes behind the race leader, Sawadogo at 2’42’’ and Rouamba at 17’21’’. “With the falls, the mechanical problems and the punctures, the damage witnessed during the first two days was serious”, regrets team director Boubacar Tao. The 2004 event winner then gave all he had to catch up his time loss, managing a fine performance on the stage to Boromo. But others, especially Verdonck, made the best of the situation.
Danger everywhere
If the bad preparation is to blame, it was mainly the number of possible winners that maybe prevented the Burkina team from applying a good strategy. While in 2005, they had rapidly controlled the Cameroon menace and only had to focus on Karel Pattyn, this time they had to deal with a far bigger number of rivals. Belgians, Moroccans, Egyptians, Cameroon and Brittany riders all showed at a moment or another that their victory ambitions were legitimate. In such a context, one needs to have the means to take command of the race and not the slightest mistake is allowed.
Captain Rouamba
The major lines of the history of the Tour du Faso curiously show that the race works out for the Burkina riders when their historical captain Saïdou Rouamba is in good shape. Indeed last year, the veteran who was then 37 years of age finished the Tour in 11th position with the green jersey on his shoulders. This time however, it all started badly for Rouamba: “he had a puncture on the dirt track portion on the way to Tiébélé and none of us saw what had happened. That’s why we weren’t able to help him and why he lost so much time. It’s true that it was a major blow on the moral of the team”, admits Boubacar Tao.
Life in pink
Like everyone else, the Burkina Stallions’ main aim is the yellow jersey, although they are symbolically very focused on the final stage in Ouaga that once again didn’t work out for them. In the battle for the pink jersey standings for which points are earned at each intermediate sprint of the stages, Abdul Wahab Sawadogo was still keen on defending his precious jersey during the final days, the only trophy of the Burkina clan. “It’s still something”, smiles Wahab, who intends on hitting back.