Burkinabè rider Paul Daumont, current holder of the yellow jersey of the 34th edition of the Tour du Faso, is one stage away from final victory, at the end of the 9th contested on Saturday between Bobo-Dioulasso and Pa (126,700km) and won by his compatriot Boureima Nana.
Paul Daumont has done the job since the start of the competition by winning 50% of the stages of the race (in Pô, Ziniaré, Zorgho, Koudougou and Bobo-Dioulasso). There is a 28-second gap between him and his Belgian challenger Wouters Rutger. Barring a cataclysm, the final victory must go to him tomorrow at the 10th stage (Saponé – Ouagadougou).
The Bobo-Dioulasso – Pa stage was the one that the Burkinabè controlled best without suffering. He remained in the footsteps of his competitors Wouters Rutger (28 seconds from the yellow jersey) and Achraf Ed-Doghmy from Morocco (1mn10 from the yellow jersey). A pitched battle therefore began between the three men in the peloton, leaving the average riders looking for bonuses.
It is the king of intermediate sprints, the Cameroonian Nounawé Rodrigue Kuere (pink jersey of the tour) who removes the first hot spot from Sogossagasso after 22.5km of racing ahead of his compatriot Abossolo Kamzong and the Moroccan Houcaine Sabbahi. The hitherto shy Malian Lamine Diamoutene will take the 2nd hot spot of Koumbia (at km 61.800), while the last intermediate sprint of Houndé will be the work of the Cameroonian Sadikou Jérémie Kossoko.
Boureima Nana, who came 2nd in the last intermediate sprint, will infiltrate a breakaway from a group of 4 runners including the Cameroonian Sadikou Jérémie and the Moroccan Oussama Khafi, two strong sprinters.
The Burkinabè nevertheless managed to win in Pa in 2h45mn21sec, an average speed of 45.975km/h. He is followed by the Moroccan Oussama Khafi and the Cameroonian Sadikou Jérémie Kossoko.
Falls in spades
The winner of the stage, after crossing the finish line, deviated from his trajectory and collided with a journalist who was stopped with his colleagues in the area reserved for the press for taking images. Boureima Nana had a few scratches, just like the journalist and were all taken care of by the medical commission. But the runner’s left wrist is bandaged.
A Moroccan runner also fell after the last intermediate sprint. Another journalist from 3 TV (Assamy Tiemtoré), behind a police and security motorcycle to take images, also fell into a ravine on the Houndé-Pa axis.
In 5 arrivals in Pa since the start of the Tour du Faso in 1987, Burkina Faso has won 3 times, including Boureima Nana’s victory today. The other two runners are: Boukari Kaganbêga in 2010 and Rasmané Ouédraogo in 2011.
11 countries (for 13 teams) are participating in this 34th edition of the Tour du Faso 2023 from October 26 to November 5. They will cover a total race distance of 1187.600km in 10 stages and will cross 7 regions of Burkina Faso out of 13.
Source: Burkina Information Agency