Wednesday, November 5 2003 Stage 7 - Yako > Ouahigouya - 80 km       J. Kern closely tails the right wheel…   If you want something doing, do it yourself; this is probably what Maarten Tjallingii said to himself today, Wednesday the 5th of November 2003, the day of his 26th birthday. As the head of the pack, he multiplied the attacks and shook off his most dangerous rival in the general classification, Thierry David, who lost 1'36'' on the yellow jersey. He also recuperated the pink jersey of the intermediary sprints. He only just lost the stage victory, beaten in the sprint by the French rider Jonathan Kern, the new white jersey holder of this Tour (best young rider). In the final lap at Ouahigouya, Tjallingii, winner of Paris-Roubaix VTT, demonstrated his perfect mastery of his machine and foiled the traps of a slippery and dusty red rock track. But Kern was closely tailing the right wheel and perfectly led his sprint. As for the Burkina Faso riders, Seydou Sanfo is now the first African in the general classification (holder of the blue and pale green jerseys), 6th at 4'27'' from the leader of the competition. The public in Ouahigouya will regret that Saïdou Tall, native of the region, 4th in the stage, wasn't able to overtake his three breakaway companions: it is a known fact that it is hard to be a prophet in your own country…   New yellow jersey fiesta The start of the 7th stage of the 17th Tour du Faso, Yako – Ouahigouya (80 km), was given this morning at 8h16 to a pack made up of 74 riders (no non starters). In the very first few kilometres, the battle was launched: Tjallingii was closely tailed by thirteen riders (bib numbers 1, 12, 13, 16, 25, 32, 42, 44, 71, 73, 74, 81 & 84). At the first bonus points sprint in Gourcy (Km 29,5), won by David, ahead of Tjallingii and Kermer, the pack were back close on the heels of the breakaways. Second breakaway… for the yellow jersey The battle for the points and the bonus seconds re-launched the race, to such an extent that in the continuity of the sprint a new breakaway group was formed, once more with Tjallingii. He was accompanied by ten men: S. Rouamba, S. Tall, O. Keita, T. David, M. Sawadogo, T. Kabore, G. Cuylits, M. Tega, T. Dietsch & J. Kern. At the second bonus points sprint in Billiga (Km 54), where Cuylits beat Tallingii and David, it was clear that the breakaways would not be caught up with. Kern on a cloud… of dust Approaching Ouahigouya, Tjallingii speeded up the pace and shook off David. He was closely followed by only three riders: Kern, Keita and Tall. On the track circuit traced out in the finishing town, it was difficult to make up for lost time, so that the positions remained unchanged. In the last lap… of the track, the attacks were multiplied at the head of the race; in this game of cat and mouse, it was the Alsace rider Kern who was the most clever, depriving the yellow jersey holder of a new victory. A stage covered at an average of 43,328 km/h.   The « invisible messenger » has found his voice… If M.C Solaar, the King of rap whose art form reaps in dollars, was presented with the humorous Soufiane, the smooth talking animator of the Tour du Faso, I'm sure he would be impressed with his polished and striking use of language… When he talks about the yellow jersey holder, he refers to the « Dutch ogre, the giant from Holland, the Tjallinger who has tjallinged all the jerseys! »; when referring to the white jersey for the best youngster, sponsored by Jumbo, he sublimates the conquest of this immaculate jersey, « jumboically won by Jonathan Kern »; when he recounts the epic of Alexandre le Grand Rouamba, the only African journalist invited on the Centenary Tour de France, he assures us that he « passed the first week in the car of Jacques Augendre, the man who in 50 tours has accumulated the most world wide knowledge on the greatest cycling history in the world, the second week on the television plateaux and the third aboard a helicopter, before meeting the French President, the world renowned Jacques Chirac: it's true, the photos of the two great men were published by all the French newspapers ». Excess, grandiloquence, sense of the repartee, Soufiane's talents are multiple and if he showers praises on the Tour du Faso guests, it is with a second degree humour and an exaggeration confined to caricature… And this is the essence of his personal « style »: continually pushing the limits, he describes his subjects with accuracy and his words hit the bull's eye. Gérard Holtz is indeed « the Dakar man » and Francis Ducreux « the stainless steel creator of the Tour du Faso who gets younger and mellows with age »; the head of the national lottery, the LONA-B, can indeed be considered as a « benefactor of the nation, who gives millions and dreams to the people of Burkina Faso »; as for Miss Burkina, Georgette Badiel, « the Queen of hostesses has put her beauty to the profit of the Queen of banks, the Crédit Lyonnais, that howls in delight ». No further illustrations are necessary, Soufiane incarnates the smile of Africa and intermingles information and entertainment, a subtle alchemy known as « the art of animation ». Discovered by Francis Ducreux, Soufiane was first of all invited on the Tour du Mali, where he was voted the « best race animator ». Very quickly, in 2000, he took his first steps on the Tour du Faso. This former free radio chronicler, at the time nicknamed « the invisible messenger », triumphed as the official race commentator; in this position, he met two former commentators , who are also his teachers, « Quatorze » (Fourteen) Tiemtore Boukare and Moalim (« Maître Coranique » - Koranic Master) Kabre Amado. Soufiane considers that Quatorze, a former rider in the Tour du Faso, on the routes of which he earned this strange nickname, is the most gifted among them and, although he speaks no other language than the maure, inherently possesses this science of language which is the success of commentators. Between them, the entente is cordiale and the pleasure intact, even if the professionnalisation of the Tour du Faso limits the part played by folklore and allows less extravagance to take hold of the finishing line: « it's normal, the Tour is now more well known and more serious and we can no longer do things the way we used to, when the sporting side was engulfed by the folkloric side ». Official animator of the Tour of Niger, of Togo, of Benin, of Mali and of Faso, Soufiane knows that there is a long road ahead of him before being able to hope to work on the Tour de France alongside his idol, Daniel Mangeas, but he admits that this would give him a « 15 year lead ». In the meantime, the invisible messenger moves around the routes of Africa and, just like the Tour du Faso, he seems to have found his voice…   TJALLINGII Maarten KERMER Kay    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