Nikiema wins final stage

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Home rider Abdoul Aziz Nikiema won another stage for Bukino Faso on the final day of the race to the capital Ouagadougou as Julien Schick of Team Reine Blanche managed to defend the leader’s yellow jersey and secure overall victory.

The 116km final stage of the 2010 was far from a stroll to the capital. The racing started off fast and finished that way with 10 hot laps on a 5km circuit in downtown Ouagadougou.

Although Schick started the stage with a healthy one minute and 17 second lead in the overall standings, the Burkina Faso teams forced the French to defend the yellow jersey all the way to Ouagadougou. Numerous attacks were launched from the gun and the peloton immediately accelerated into a single-file. After 20km the peloton had already split, as all the leaders and overall contenders formed a selection of 30 riders. Several attacks gained small advantages, but the leaders’ peloton refused to let any of the major contenders escape.

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Eventually the pace slowed a little as the peloton regrouped and Team Reine Blanche continued to set tempo. 10km outside the capital, Abdoul Aziz Nikiema and Belgium’s Christophe Premont attacked together and gained a significant advantage. With neither rider threatening the overall or the sprint classification, the stage eight runner-up and the stage seven winner managed to gain a two minute advantage coming into the chaotic outskirts of Ouagadougou. Entering the first of ten 5km downtown laps, the duo still held a two-minute lead, thrilling the thousands of spectators who lined the boulevard in front of the prime minister’s house.

With the peloton still being lead by a tireless Team Reine Blanche, Julien Schick rode ever closer to overall victory with each lap down the crowded main boulevard. Nikiema and Premont worked together smoothly, matching the pace of the chasing peloton and with two laps remaining, Eddy Merckx jumped into the Belgian team car to follow Premont and Nikiema on their penultimate lap.

Still maintaining a two minute lead as they entered the final 500 meters, Premont and Nikiema approached the line exhausted but elated. In a tremendous gesture of sportsmanship, Premont applauded as Nikiema raised his hands and took an uncontested victory. Having already won a stage, the young Belgian showed great generosity by offering Nikiema a beautiful win in front of thousands of cheering Burkina Faso fans.

As the peloton sprinted down the boulevard, Poland’s Zbigniew Gucwa claimed third place while Julien Schick finished comfortably in the peloton to seal his overall victory. Rasmané Ouedraogo maintained second place in the overall classification, securing the jersey of Best African rider.