In the name of sharing

The Tour of Faso is 18 years old. A significant age in African tradition, the age of majority in our modern states. Soon the Tour will be donning the attire of maturity and wisdom thanks to the efforts of all those who have believed in this adventure since it was created in 1987.

This is the place for me to thank all those who have kept alight the flame of this competition, now a beacon in Africa and the rest of the world. My thoughts go out to all those who have sustained the Tour since it was created: the sportsmen that have braved the rigours of the race and the difficult conditions that we endure, the sponsors from every horizon that have never ceased to provide us with material and financial aid, the media, from here and elsewhere, who have been the spokesmen and witnesses of our marvelous enterprise, the management teams that have succeeded to the top of our cycling federation, the lovers of the “little queen”, without which the spectacle would be in vain, and the artists and all those who, in one way or another, have contributed to making the Tour of Faso a reason for Burkina to be proud.

Our adventure will be pursued with even more assurance, illuminated by the great experience of the Tour de France, the organisers of which have just entered into a new three-year period of collaboration with us, in that way illustrating the quality of our partnership over the first three years. If neither of the parties have terminated the agreement, it is surely proof that it was based on a solid and mutually advantageous base. The sceptics need to be convinced that the Burkina government and the Tour de France were right when they decided to join forces to pilot this ship together. The marriage of reason between the management of Amaury Sport Organisation and the inhabitants of the Land of Upright Men has been rapidly transformed into a marriage of love.

The offspring are already numerous, with the training of technicians and athletes in France, advertising spinoffs that have proven of real benefit to our populations, in particular young schoolchildren in our countryside for whom the passage of the caravan can be likened to the arrival of Father Christmas; on an economic level, more than half a million FCFA are spent every year for the Tour; better, our sponsors have been anxious to develop African cycling by training of the young, made possible by the “1000 cycles for Faso” operation, which, for the last edition of the Tour de France harvested some 652 cycles for our cycling schools.

This year, the main innovation will be a wink in the direction of our friends in Mali with the Orodara-Sikasso stage. While the magic of the airwaves enables us to broadcast images of the tour throughout the world, it will be a great pleasure for us to share the joys of the actual event with our neighbours beyond our frontiers. We want all those around us to witness the spirit of sharing that characterises the Tour of Faso. A spirit that reveals itself in our partnership with the Tour de France, at the heart of the peleton during the race, and at end of stage meals. It is the same spirit that will enable young cyclists in this West African region to benefit from the fruits of the “1000 cycles for Faso” operation and who have kindly agreed to participate in a competition for cycling schools on 2 November 2004 with the collaboration of the French Voluntary Service.

In the name of the government, I would like to extend our thanks to the Mali authorities who have not only offered us their hospitality but are also helping us provide security for the race.

To all our guests, welcome.

To the organisers, and traditional and religious authorities whose blessings will enable the 18th Tour to cross through our lands in tranquillity, I thank you for your solicitude.

To all those who love the Tour of Faso, I wish you a fine celebration of African cycling.

Excellent 2004 race.