Bobodioulasso was a spectacular sight to behold today when the stage 8 criterium flung into action this early morning.
The 10-lap criterium covering a distance of 102km was a daunting task for the over 60 riders who battled for glory.
And it was the ‘beast’ from Burkina Faso, Paul Damont who once again cruised past the finish line in ease to secure his Yellow jersey.
The Burkina Faso cycling icon made a time of 2:23:59 with 14 others in same time. But the time difference between the fair coloured Burkinabe and experienced Ivorian sprinter, Abu Sanogo is just 6 seconds. The diminutive Ivorian sprinter is a big surprise as he has totally eclipsed the evergreen performance of his fellow compatriot Cisse Issiaka.
Ghana had three riders in the competition – Solomon Tagoe, Michael Naaba and Emmanuel Mensah stuck in the first bunch until they were dismembered from the men five laps into the game.
A series of breakaways was witnessed three laps to finish with Paul Damont still in the leading pack.
The crowd kept up their chants for their idol anytime he got around the market square end of the road.
It was becoming obvious that the Burkinabe sprinter would win the race one lap to finish and he did. It was a brilliant maintenance into the bunch with low workrate as his teammates did all the job.
Getting to the finish stretch of about 20km, Paul broke off and sprang to finish throwing Bobodioulasso into a state of uncontrolled jubilation.
Ghana’ s performance was still evident. The team had improved even better than the previous stages.
The training exercise is worth it. The boys have grown into a different level of fitness and confidence.
Two more stages to go. A hectic Road Race from Bobodioulasso to Pa covering a distance of 144km. After the race the entire riders would be transported by bus to Ouagadougou over 235km.
Credit: Dennis Kweku Moore in Bobodioulasso
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