Ouagadougou: Burkinabe cyclist Paul Daumont has returned to the national team (Etalons cyclistes) to prepare for the 36th edition of the Tour International Cycliste du Faso 2025, the competition organizers announced Thursday during a press conference.
According to Burkina Information Agency, Paul Daumont, the winner of the penultimate edition of the Tour du Faso, was unable to participate in the 35th edition in 2024 due to an accident on December 14, 2023. The National Organizing Committee, during a press conference to update on the preparations for the 36th edition, announced that Daumont is back among the 21 riders preselected to prepare for the competition.
“A preparation plan has been implemented. The Stallions Cyclistes are in their final phase of preparation. They have been regrouping since September 25 and are currently in training camp. They will be in Bobo-Dioulasso to fine-tune their preparation,” explained National Technical Director (DTN) Martin Sawadogo.
The Cycling Stallions have undergone several phases of preparation, including participation in 14 national races and international races in Mali, Benin, Cameroon, and Ivory Coast. They are also training for the regrouping and will participate in the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) race on October 12.
For the DTN, “there is hope for the yellow jersey given the average performance recorded recently and the cohesion between the cyclists.” The Stallions Cyclistes will be divided into three teams: the A team, the West regional team, and the Central team to represent Burkina Faso in this 36th round. They will have 20 new bikes for the competition.
Nine of the 12 invited countries have confirmed their participation, including Mali, Belgium, Ivory Coast, Benin, Cameroon, Morocco, Niger, Ghana, and Togo. The riders will traverse nine regions of Burkina Faso, covering a race distance of 1,155.070 km over ten stages.
The Tour International Cycliste du Faso will take place from October 24 to November 2, 2025. The current holder of the 35th edition’s jersey is Moroccan Mohcine El Kouradji.