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17th Tour du Faso - 2.5
Burkina Faso, October 29-November 9, 2003
Stage 1 - October 29: Ouagadougou - Kaya, 111.5 km
Tjallingii opens with first victory
By Chris Henry
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Dutchman Maarten Tjallingii of the Marco Polo Cycling Team has set the bar for the others to reach in the Tour du Faso, winning the first stage from the capital Ouagadougou to Kaya. Tjallingii, eager to repeat Marco Polo's Faso success from 2001, where Joost Legtenberg led the race from start to finish. The Dutchman beat France's Thierry David (GMCI 38) in the final sprint after 111 kilometres of racing, with Burkina Faso's Mahamadi Sawadogo (Sofitex) completing the podium just three seconds behind.
Eighty two riders set off from Ouagadougou for this year's tour, the 17th edition of the race. The attacks began early, and it was Jonathan Kern from France's Alsace team, alongside compatriot Arnaud Vettier (Normandie) who set off in the first escape. Their move was short-lived, but it got the ball rolling for what would be a very aggressive day of racing despite the oppressive heat. Stage starts in the tour are rarely later than 8am, but there's no escaping the sun in Burkina Faso.
After the initial break, a more substantial group detached itself, featuring 14 riders. In the move were Tjallingii, his Marco Polo teammate Remko Kramer, David and Stéphane Paol from GMCI 38, the Belgian duo of Gunther Cuylits and Karel Pattyn (Aliplast), as well as their Dutch teammate Peter Van Agtmaal, Lucien Zongo (A.S. Fadoul), and Gweswende Sawadogo (Sifa-Peugeot), among others. The break quickly established itself, but not before a group of six made its way across the gap.
Tjallingii was active all day, but a marked man, particularly by his European rivals. He took the day's first intermediate sprint in Ziniare, while the next two sprints would be claimed by Cuylits and Gweswende Sawadogo. The break pressed on, and with the peloton out of the running to contest the tour's first victory, the battle came down to a short 5km finishing circuit in Kaya... much to the chagrin of Sawadogo, who raised his arms in a sign of triumph at the first crossing of the finish line. His Sofitex team director yelled for him to carry on, as the race was not yet won, and the jockeying for position began anew.
The group stayed for the most part intact over the circuit, and as it reached the finish line for the second time, but the moment that counted, it was Tjallingii who forced his way ahead of the rest to claim victory. In doing so he took the race leader's yellow jersey, the pink jersey for intermediate sprints, and the green points jersey. Mahamadi Sawadogo managed third place behind Thierry David, some small consolation after his brother's misguided sprint one lap prior.
Photography
Images by Denis Descamps/A.S.O.
- Dutchman Maarten Tjallingii (Marco Polo) the happy winner of the first stage of the Tour du Faso
- Riders pass a Baobab tree during stage 1 of the Tour du Faso
Results
1 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 2.45.46 2 Thierry David (Fra) GMCI 38 3 Mahamadi Sawadogo (Bur) Sofitex 0.03 4 Alexandre Lecocq (Fra) GMCI 38 0.05 5 Lucien Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 0.55 6 L-Jean Ilboudo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 1.21 7 Gweswende Sawadogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 1.24 8 Karel Pattyn (Bel) Aliplast 1.34 9 Michel Kauffmann (Fra) Alsace 1.43 10 Saidou Rouamba (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 11 Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Aliplast 12 Thomas Dietsch (Fra) Alsace 13 Gunther Cuylits (Bel) Aliplast 14 Seydou Sanfo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 15 Kossi Nossi (Tog) Togo 16 Damien Tekou (Cam) Cameroon 17 Martinien Tega (Cam) Cameroon 1.48 18 Jerome Pamart (Fra) Normandie 1.50 19 Stephane Paol (Fra) GMCI 38 1.53 20 Remko Kramer (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 2.39 21 Tidiane Ouedraogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 3.02 22 Jordane Chazal (Fra) GMCI 38 3.03 23 Pascal Bouba (Cam) Cameroon 3.09 24 Olivier Keita (Sen) Senegal 25 Ludovic Lemarechal (Fra) Normandie 26 Abdoulaye Ouedraogo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 27 Laurent Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 28 R-Geremie Ouedraogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 29 T-Desire Kabore (Bur) Sofitex 3.12 30 Jerome Amann (Fra) Alsace 31 Issaka Kabore (Bur) Sofitex 3.59 32 Hamidou Diarra (Mli) Mali 33 Michel Bilgo (Bur) Sofitex 34 Adama Bagayoko (Mli) Mali 4.01 35 Fabrice Bretel (Fra) Alsace 4.03 36 Saidou Tall (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 37 Thibault Richard (Fra) GMCI 38 38 Kock Rutger (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 4.10 39 Cyrille Cosnefroy (Fra) Normandie 4.20 40 Jean Tonde (Bur) Sofitex 41 Sadrac Teguimaha (Cam) Cameroon 42 Papa Amadou Diouf (Sen) Senegal 43 Lionel Syne (Bel) Marco Polo Cycling Team 4.23 44 Komi Kondoh (Tog) Togo 45 Joseph Sanda (Cam) Cameroon 4.24 46 Ablasse Tapsoba (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 47 Kay Kermer (Ger) Marco Polo Cycling Team 48 Ibrahim Abdoulaye Soumma (Nig) Niger 49 Abdoulaye Thiam (Sen) Senegal 50 Karim Kabore (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 51 Attivi Egue (Tog) Togo 52 Elhadji Malick Thiam (Sen) Senegal 53 Didier Agbefu (Tog) Togo 54 Idrissa Ouedraogo (Bur) Niger 55 Jonathan Kern (Fra) Alsace 56 Ali Sidi Thiam (Sen) Senegal 57 David Washburn (USA) Marco Polo Cycling Team 58 Kowouvi Dossouvi (Tog) Togo 59 Joost Declerk (Bel) Aliplast 60 Brice Bouniot (Fra) GMCI 38 61 Houdo Sawadogo (Bur) Sofitex 4.33 62 Guillaume Boisgontier (Fra) Normandie 4.41 63 Salia Togola (Mli) Mali 64 Zakaria Dia Abdoulsalam (Nig) Niger 4.43 65 Martin Som (Cam) Cameroon 4.49 66 Augustin Amoussouvi (Ben) Benin 5.29 67 Aldo Kpanti (Ben) Benin 68 Eric Ahouandjinou (Ben) Benin 5.31 69 Arnaud Vettier (Fra) Normandie 5.45 70 Siaka Diarra (Mli) Mali 6.01 71 Steven Thys (Bel) Aliplast 10.00 72 Peter Schoepen (Bel) Aliplast 10.06 73 Gabriel Margrit (Fra) Normandie 10.17 74 Eugène Hansinon (Ben) Benin 11.49 75 Adama Togola (Mli) Mali 23.01 76 Jean Lopez (Sen) Senegal 31.27 77 Jean Claude Badjagoume (Ben) Benin 31.34 78 Paul Dona (Ben) Benin 31.37 79 Adamou Gabo (Nig) Niger 80 Siaka Diallo (Mli) Mali 32.57 81 Amadou Harouna (Nig) Niger 42.25 DNF Yahaya Gado (Nig) Niger Points 1 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 30 pts 2 Thierry David (Fra) GMCI 38 27 3 Mahamadi Sawadogo (Bur) Sofitex 25 4 Alexandre Lecocq (Fra) GMCI 38 23 5 Lucien Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 21 6 L-Jean Ilboudo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 19 7 Gweswende Sawadogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 17 8 Karel Pattyn (Bel) Aliplast 15 9 Michel Kauffmann (Fra) Alsace 13 10 Saidou Rouamba (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 11 11 Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Aliplast 10 12 Thomas Dietsch (Fra) Alsace 9 13 Gunther Cuylits (Bel) Aliplast 8 14 Seydou Sanfo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 7 15 Kossi Nossi (Tog) Togo 6 16 Damien Tekou (Cam) Cameroon 5 17 Martinien Tega (Cam) Cameroon 4 18 Jerome Pamart (Fra) Normandie 3 19 Stephane Paol (Fra) GMCI 38 2 20 Remko Kramer (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 1 Sprints Ziniare - 34.00 km 1 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 3 pts 2 Gunther Cuylits (Bel) Aliplast 2 3 Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Aliplast 1 Korsimoro - 74.00 km 1 Gunther Cuylits (Bel) Aliplast 3 pts 2 Thierry David (Fra) GMCI 38 2 3 Lucien Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 1 Kaya (1st passage of finish line) - 106.00 km 1 Mahamadi Sawadogo (Bur) Sofitex 3 pts 2 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 2 3 Lucien Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 1 Teams 1 GMCI 38 8.19.16 2 Sifa - Peugeot 2.30 3 Aliplast 3.02 4 A.S.Fadoul 3.49 5 Alsace 4.40 6 Cameroon 4.42 7 Marco Polo Cycling Team 4.51 8 Sofitex 5.16 9 Normandie 7.21 10 Togo 8.32 11 Senegal 9.55 12 Mali 10.43 13 Niger 11.33 14 Benin 14.31 General classification after stage 1 1 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 2.45.31 2 Thierry David (Fra) GMCI 38 0.07 3 Mahamadi Sawadogo (Bur) Sofitex 0.11 4 Alexandre Lecocq (Fra) GMCI 38 0.20 5 Lucien Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 1.08 6 L-Jean Ilboudo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 1.36 7 Gweswende Sawadogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 1.39 8 Karel Pattyn (Bel) Aliplast 1.49 9 Gunther Cuylits (Bel) Aliplast 1.53 10 Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Aliplast 1.57 11 Michel Kauffmann (Fra) Alsace 1.58 12 Saidou Rouamba (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 13 Thomas Dietsch (Fra) Alsace 14 Seydou Sanfo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 15 Kossi Nossi (Tog) Togo 16 Damien Tekou (Cam) Cameroon 17 Martinien Tega (Cam) Cameroon 2.03 18 Jerome Pamart (Fra) Normandie 2.05 19 Stephane Paol (Fra) GMCI 38 2.08 20 Remko Kramer (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 2.54 21 Tidiane Ouedraogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 3.17 22 Jordane Chazal (Fra) GMCI 38 3.18 23 Pascal Bouba (Cam) Cameroon 3.24 24 Olivier Keita (Sen) Senegal 25 Ludovic Lemarechal (Fra) Normandie 26 Abdoulaye Ouedraogo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 27 Laurent Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 28 R-Geremie Ouedraogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 29 T-Desire Kabore (Bur) Sofitex 3.27 30 Jerome Amann (Fra) Alsace 31 Issaka Kabore (Bur) Sofitex 4.14 32 Hamidou Diarra (Mli) Mali 33 Michel Bilgo (Bur) Sofitex 34 Adama Bagayoko (Mli) Mali 4.16 35 Fabrice Bretel (Fra) Alsace 4.18 36 Saidou Tall (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 37 Thibault Richard (Fra) GMCI 38 38 Kock Rutger (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 4.25 39 Cyrille Cosnefroy (Fra) Normandie 4.35 40 Jean Tonde (Bur) Sofitex 41 Sadrac Teguimaha (Cam) Cameroon 42 Papa Amadou Diouf (Sen) Senegal 43 Lionel Syne (Bel) Marco Polo Cycling Team 4.38 44 Komi Kondoh (Tog) Togo 45 Joseph Sanda (Cam) Cameroon 4.39 46 Ablasse Tapsoba (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 47 Kay Kermer (Ger) Marco Polo Cycling Team 48 Ibrahim Abdoulaye Soumma (Nig) Niger 49 Abdoulaye Thiam (Sen) Senegal 50 Karim Kabore (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 51 Attivi Egue (Tog) Togo 52 Elhadji Malick Thiam (Sen) Senegal 53 Didier Agbefu (Tog) Togo 54 Idrissa Ouedraogo (Bur) Niger 55 Jonathan Kern (Fra) Alsace 56 Ali Sidi Thiam (Sen) Senegal 57 David Washburn (USA) Marco Polo Cycling Team 58 Kowouvi Dossouvi (Tog) Togo 59 Joost Declerk (Bel) Aliplast 60 Brice Bouniot (Fra) GMCI 38 61 Houdo Sawadogo (Bur) Sofitex 4.48 62 Guillaume Boisgontier (Fra) Normandie 4.56 63 Salia Togola (Mli) Mali 64 Zakaria Dia Abdoulsalam (Nig) Niger 4.58 65 Martin Som (Cam) Cameroon 5.04 66 Augustin Amoussouvi (Ben) Benin 5.44 67 Aldo Kpanti (Ben) Benin 68 Eric Ahouandjinou (Ben) Benin 5.46 69 Arnaud Vettier (Fra) Normandie 6.00 70 Siaka Diarra (Mli) Mali 6.16 71 Steven Thys (Bel) Aliplast 10.15 72 Peter Schoepen (Bel) Aliplast 10.21 73 Gabriel Margrit (Fra) Normandie 10.32 74 Eugène Hansinon (Ben) Benin 12.04 75 Adama Togola (Mli) Mali 23.16 76 Jean Lopez (Sen) Senegal 31.42 77 Jean Claude Badjagoume (Ben) Benin 31.49 78 Paul Dona (Ben) Benin 31.52 79 Adamou Gabo (Nig) Niger 80 Siaka Diallo (Mli) Mali 33.12 81 Amadou Harouna (Nig) Niger 42.40 Points classification 1 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 30 pts 2 Thierry David (Fra) GMCI 38 27 3 Mahamadi Sawadogo (Bur) Sofitex 25 4 Alexandre Lecocq (Fra) GMCI 38 23 5 Lucien Zongo (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 21 6 L-Jean Ilboudo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 19 7 Gweswende Sawadogo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 17 8 Karel Pattyn (Bel) Aliplast 15 9 Michel Kauffmann (Fra) Alsace 13 10 Saidou Rouamba (Bur) A.S.Fadoul 11 11 Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Aliplast 10 12 Thomas Dietsch (Fra) Alsace 9 13 Gunther Cuylits (Bel) Aliplast 8 14 Seydou Sanfo (Bur) Sifa - Peugeot 7 15 Kossi Nossi (Tog) Togo 6 16 Damien Tekou (Cam) Cameroon 5 17 Martinien Tega (Cam) Cameroon 4 18 Jerome Pamart (Fra) Normandie 3 19 Stephane Paol (Fra) GMCI 38 2 20 Remko Kramer (Ned) Marco Polo Cycling Team 1 Teams classification 1 GMCI 38 8.19.16 2 Sifa - Peugeot 2.30 3 Aliplast 3.02 4 A.S.Fadoul 3.49 5 Alsace 4.40 6 Cameroon 4.42 7 Marco Polo Cycling Team 4.51 8 Sofitex 5.16 9 Normandie 7.21 10 Togo 8.32 11 Senegal 9.55 12 Mali 10.43 13 Niger 11.33 14 Benin 14.31
