15th Tour du Faso - 2.5
Burkina Faso, October 31-November 11, 2001
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Rest Day- November 4: Ouahigouya
Back to cycling's roots
It was a rest day for the riders, so local amateur racers took centre stage
in a race round the streets of Ouahigouya, as Denis Descamps reports.
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Almost
a cyclo-cross
Photo: © Denis Descamps
On Sunday November 4 the Tour du Faso's riders were granted a rest day. And they
had the opportunity to attend an incredible show: an amateur race in the streets
of Ouahigouya. Imagine old one-gear bicycles, imagine single colored jerseys,
imagine riders aged from 15 to 45, imagine a circuit passing through sandy roads,
imagine a rider repairing his own bike on the roadside, imagine a hot crowd cheering
on the riders, imagine a fabulous & funny speaker talking for hours, imagine cows
on the finish line a few minutes before the finish, imagine a Northern town of
Burkina Faso, one of the poorest countries in the world… Then you can guess
what an amateur race is here: a moment of pure happiness!
 |
Where's
that damn team car?
Photo: © Denis Descamps
Belgian rider Patrice Hemroulle (Aliplast), winner of Tour du Faso Stage 3,
was like a kid: "I can't believe my eye ! It's the most spectacular race
I've ever seen. No cheating. Just fun. It's so moving. It looks like images
I've seen from the first Tour de France."
Imagine Cycling's First Ages…