Saturday, November 1 2003 Stage 4 - Boromo > Houndé - 74 km       Thierry David against Goliath…   Another very lively stage on the roads of Bobo Dioulasso, resulting in the Frenchman Thierry David, the day's winner, and the Burkinabe Gweswende Sawadogo gaining 30 seconds (17 + 13 in bonuses) and 23 seconds (17 + 6 in bonuses) on the yellow jersey Marteen Tjallingii. The day wasn't easy for anyone as the recent storms had badly damaged the roads, creating numerous potholes and making the cycling rather dangerous. Nevertheless, the stage was a fine one, nervous and lively, crossing through superb countryside with jagged relief and an enthusiastic population. Cycling over this terrain at an average speed of 39 km/hr, these courageous fanatics of the bush achieved a magnificent feat.   Morning skirmishes; what got into them? The whistle was blown on the start of the long 4th stage of the 17th Tour du Faso, (Boromo – Houndé, 74 kms) this morning at 07:36, to a pack comprising 79 cyclists (no non-starters). As usual, they all set off at a tremendous pace and breakaway attempts were numerous: A. Lecoq et D. Kabore were particularly tenacious, constantly attacking. At the first intermediate sprint at Pa (Km 43), the pack was still compact: A. Lecoq, M. Sawadogo and L. Syne fought for the bonus points in a final sprint, welcomed by a friendly crowd. Five men… digging holes! Despite the extremely poor condition of the roads, with numerous deep potholes, the fighters continued their undermining tactics. Around 20 men headed up the leading pack (jersey numbers 2, 11, 16, 24, 25, 36, 41, 44, 52, 54, 73, 81, 84, 85, 92, 94), from which five cyclists: T. David, G. Sawadogo, M. Tega, D. Kabore, and K. Pattyn, finally broke away to cross the finishing line of the second intermediate sprint, in this order. David versus Tjallingii; long-distance duel the Lagging behind, the yellow jersey was trapped; getting his team to pick up the pace, he began to catch up, finally managing to reduce the gap to 17 seconds by the finish line. Honour had been preserved. Without doubt, the two winners of the day were T. David and G. Sawadogo: the first winning the stage, taking the green jersey and closing on the leader (2nd at 1'24"); the second taking the blue jersey of the best African (and the light green of UEMOA), but, above all, following his poor performance yesterday, winning back the esteem of his countrymen…   Crazy Caïman! To capture a picture with your camera of a man sitting on a crocodile several metres long stroking its neck just like any other household pet, you have to come to Burkina Faso! In Bazoulé to be precise, a small town situated 20 kilometres to the West of the capital on the Houndé road, and the finish town for the stage of the day. Bazoulé is a village known for its lake in which a colony of sacred crocodiles are harboured. Creatures in which the soul of the founding chief of the native Mossi community lives on, between the water and the millet fields: « Nabakouba », literally, the « killer chief », has lived here for several centuries and remains firmly fixed in the memories of the inhabitants as a hot-headed warrior, who « killed a man in the morning and a woman in the evening ». Hence we understand that his spirit was not reincarnated in a butterfly or a cow… In the twilight years of his existence, this respected man, who had taken so many lives, decided that his could never completely disappear and prophesied his resurrection in the bodies of the crocodiles in the neighbouring lake. Ever since, the creatures of this salubrious swamp area are the objects of a divine veneration and… a very lucrative commercial exploitation! Welcome to Jurassic Park! The prospect of stroking a frightening pre-historic beast is subtly brought into play. When buying his ticket, the tourist has the option of buying one or two chickens, in order to attract the monster and spice up the spectacle. You can guess the rest… The creature comes out of the water, running on the banks of the lake like a lightning flash. The « trainer » tames it whilst the public hesitate, split between fascination and an urge to run. With the chicken in his hand, the trainer strokes the crocodile and climbs on its back, in a surrealist and macabre embrace. The rest of the spectacle is given up to the taming of the animals by holding the chicken in the air above their heads like the game merry-go-round owners play with children. Then a dozen of the crocodiles are brought together to be fed one of these poor chickens, sold for 5.000 CFA Francs: where has Brigitte Bardot gone? Who can call her to come urgently to put an end to this carnage? You should see the fright of the chicken when it understands its role in this baleful entertainment; it's morbid! Sincerely, when you witness the speed with which the chicken is devoured by the biting jaws, no matter how many times we are told that children regularly swim in this lake, I wouldn't even dip the slightest tip of my toe in it… Before we leave, stupidly forgetting my fear, I get closer and I stare at this fearsome killing machine, the worthy reincarnation of the « killer chief » the founder of Bazoulé; and I recall the declarations of the witnesses in 2001 who affirmed that a Belgian tourist who climbed on the back of one of these sacred crocodiles was unseated by the creature and the stupid rodeo finished by a savage attack and an emergency repatriation on medical grounds. I don't know if the victim survived, but between the legitimate desire to observe this mythical animal and a stupid and dangerous game, everybody should be able to make the distinction. Tourists, wherever you are from, if you go to Bazoulé, don't deny yourself this pleasure, admire these superb creatures, but don't ever forget that they are wild animals and have a killer instinct: just like the ancestor of the village with his enemies, they could have something against you…   TJALLINGII Maarten DAVID Thierry    Stage • Individual time • Individual points • Team    Overall • Individual time • Individual points • Team   1 Wednesday, October 29 111,5 km  Ouagadougou - Kaya 2 Thursday, October 30 70 km  Kaya - Ziniaré 3 Friday, October 31 136 km  Kokologo - Boromo 4 Saturday, November 1 74 km  Boromo - Houndé 5 Sunday, November 2 133 km  Orodara - Bobo-Dioulasso R Monday, November 3  Ouagadougou 6 Tuesday, November 4 103,5 km  Ouagadougou - Yako 7 Wednesday, November 5 80 km  Yako - Ouahigouya 8 Thursday, November 6 128,5 km  Ouahigouya - Boussé 9 Friday, November 7 149 km  Koulbila - Tenkodogo 10 Saturday, November 8 139,5 km  Tenkodogo - Fada N'Gourma 11 Sunday, November 9 123 km  Kombissiri - Ouagadougou