Ouagadougou, Burkinabè sprinter Paul Daumont was delighted on Saturday to have been able to keep the yellow jersey with the added bonus of victory in stage 2 of the Tour international du Faso, run between Nioryida and Ziniaré 107.2 km long.
After his victory in the first stage on Friday of the 34th Tour international du Faso in Pô in south-central Burkina Faso, Paul Daumont did it again by winning the 2nd stage on Saturday in Ziniaré in the Central Plateau, a victory which was only the first objective of the day.
“The objective was to keep the yellow jersey today and not to win. We therefore had to watch the Belgians, the Moroccans, the Ivorians and the Cameroonians (teams who put a lot of pressure during the journey: editor's note),” declared Paul Daumont upon arrival.
He explains that “in the configuration of the race we managed to turn it to our advantage. The other teams were forced to work, which allowed us to rest and be ready for the stage victory. Thank God I had the legacy for that.”
Before Nioryida's departure, it was the 2018 yellow jersey Mathias Sorgho and the various coaches of the Burkina teams who provided valuable advice to their younger brother Daumont to allow him to control the race.
“Mathias Sorgho passed on all his experience to me. He is someone who has already won the Tour in a similar configuration, that is to say by taking the jersey very early in the race. He has already participated in the victory of Harouna Ilboudo (2016: editor's note). He is therefore a man of experience and he decided to bring this experience to us young people,” recognizes Paul Daumont, member of AS Bessel (Burkina Faso).
Paul Daumont completed the 107.2 km in 2h25mn 45 seconds, an average speed of 43.829km/h, ahead of Belgians Heylen Wannes and Wouters Rutger. He has a gap of 9 seconds between him and the Belgian Wouters.
The Burkina Faso champion keeps his two yellow and green jerseys, leaving the pink one for the intermediate sprints to his compatriot Mouni Vincent, winner at the two hot spots of Kombissiri and Ouagadougou.
The internship was sponsored by the National Fund for the Promotion of Sports and Leisure. Two riders abandoned yesterday after the first stage. They are the Ghanaian Benezer Frank and the Nigerian Ibrahim Sani.
The 3rd stage will be run tomorrow Sunday in Ouagadougou in a 14 kmx10 criterium, or at a distance of 144 km.
Source: Burkina Information Agency