Early morning breakaway
The start of the sixth stage was given at 8h50 to 68 riders. A short stage, favouring breakaways, the first attack took place in the first kilometres, instigated by Joost Legtenberg, winner of the 2001 edition, accompanied by Sawadogo, Ed Daiyf, Bouba, Milesi, Sartori, Choji, and Vermeulen. The unfortunate Ibouldo, part of the breakaway group, was victim of a mechanical problem (a broken pedal) which forced him to regain the pack.

The yellow jersey group lose ground
Whilst two courageous Burkina Faso counter attackers (Belem & Sawadogo) rejoin the eight runaways, the pack heads the chase without really forcing the pace, to such an extent that the gap quickly widens : 1’10’’, 2’20’’, then 3’15’’ in Niama (Km 58). At fifteen kilometres from the finish, whilst the pack has fought back to 1’30’’, three men break away from the leading group : Sawadogo, Sartori and Choji. The first two go on alone and manage to retain their leading minute past the red sign signalling the last kilometre.

Victory for Hamidou G. Sawadogo – Saadoune keeps the yellow jersey
In the sprint, the Burkina Faso rider is incontestably the strongest : he wins ahead of the Frenchman, amid cheers from the crowd, who were just waiting for such an opportunity to go wild. In winning the sprint ahead of another Burkina Faso hero, Pafadnam, Syne takes the green jersey from the yellow jersey holder, Saadoune. Which is only logical, as the Californian by adoption has an amazing maximum speed.

Generosity, the Crédit Lyonnais hallmark…

The sponsor of the famous Tour de France yellow jersey, the Crédit Lyonnais, has been the official partner of the Tour du Faso for two years already. What can we say about this yellow jersey other than it embodies the dream of every self respecting cyclist and that it is the symbol of sporting success? It is the same on the Tour du Faso where the race leader is surrounded by an aura and immediate recognition, linked to his sun coloured clothing. For the Crédit Lyonnais, there is a logic that explains this strong implication : everywhere that it rewards the winner of a cycling race, the yellow jersey must be emblazoned with the logo of the famous French bank. Its directors wish for a total and permanent identification of the brand name with the jersey.

But the Crédit Lyonnais doesn’t stop there : not only does it sponsor the team classification, as on the Tour de France, but it has also set up a vast operation aimed at Burkina Faso schools situated at the side of the roads passed by on the Tour du Faso. The C.L car leaves well before the race and every day distributes to some 2.000 school children satchels, pens and caps, to the surprise and great joy of the teachers and children. A generous initiative totally devoid of any commercial interest, as explained to us by Nicolas Chêne, Director of Communication at Crédit Lyonnais who joined the Tour du Faso caravan the day before yesterday : "We have no ulterior motive in this action as we have no subsidiary companies in Burkina Faso. Certainly, we are interested by the media coverage of the competition, which remains the biggest Tour of Africa and is broadcast in countries where we are present, like Morocco, Senegal and the Ivory Coast, but this is not the most important. Above all, our ambition is to aid Burkina Faso, a country that we love".

The last chapter in this collaboration : the sponsoring of the "ardoisier’s" motorbike, chosen this year to play the same role on the Tour de France. Nicolas Chêne continues : "the idea of inviting Michel Bationo to work as "ardoisier" on the Tour de France came from Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O) and, when they talked to us about this project, I said that I would agree to pay the return aeroplane ticket Ouaga-Paris-Ouaga. It was all arranged. If all parties are agreed, I am ready to renew the experience in 2003". The Centenary Tour could well be the Tour of the smile, a smile straight from the heart of Burkina Faso…