Nikiema wins final stage
By Cycling News published
Schick takes home yellow jersey
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.
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.
1 | Abdoul Aziz Nikiema (Bur) | 2:52:57 |
2 | Christophe Premont (Bel) Belgium | 0:00:02 |
3 | Zbigniew Gucwa (Pol) | 0:02:01 |
4 | Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Netherlands | |
5 | Laurent Mars (Bel) Belgium | |
6 | Joris De Boer (Ned) Netherlands | |
7 | Rasmane Ouedraogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | |
8 | Bassirou Kante (CIv) Ivory Coast | |
9 | Rabaki Jeremie Ouedraogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | |
10 | Oumarou Minoungou (Bur) | |
11 | Abdul Wahab Sawadogo (Bur) | |
12 | Guillaume Tourret (Fra) | |
13 | Abdoulaye Roamba (Bur) | |
14 | Oumar Sangaré (Mli) Mali | |
15 | Sébastien Destruel (Fra) | |
16 | Laurent Zongo (Bur) | |
17 | Ben Zakalia Fofana (CIv) Ivory Coast | |
18 | Leander Schreurs (Ned) Netherlands | |
19 | Johan Procee (Ned) Netherlands | |
20 | Damien Tekou (Cmr) Cameroon | |
21 | Martinien Tega (Cmr) Cameroon | |
22 | Tidiani Sanogo (Mli) Mali | |
23 | Julien Schick (Fra) | |
24 | Damien Leguay (Fra) | |
25 | Mbaye Mor Diop (Sen) Senegal | |
26 | Flaubert Douanla (Cmr) Cameroon | |
27 | Abdou Sokondo (Bur) | |
28 | Yacouba Yameogo (Bur) | |
29 | Ngock Yves Ngue (Cmr) Cameroon | |
30 | Hamidou Yameogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | 0:02:06 |
31 | Becaye Traore (Sen) Senegal | |
32 | Etienne Tarbagdo (Bur) | |
33 | Guillaume Soula (Fra) | |
34 | Noufou Minoungou (Bur) Burkina Faso | |
35 | Siaka Mariko (Mli) Mali | |
36 | Massamba Diouf (Sen) Senegal | |
37 | Jérémy Burton (Bel) Belgium | |
38 | Bram Delie (Bel) Belgium | |
39 | Joseph Sanda (Cmr) Cameroon | |
40 | Mamadou Coulibaly (CIv) Ivory Coast | |
41 | Clovis Guewa (Cmr) Cameroon | |
42 | Boukare Kagambega (Bur) | |
43 | Idrissa SAWADOGO | |
44 | Saidou Tall (Bur) Burkina Faso | |
45 | Gueswende Sawadogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | |
46 | Idissa Ouedraogo (Bur) | |
47 | Harouna Ilboudo (Bur) | 0:02:13 |
48 | Wim Botman (Ned) Netherlands | |
49 | Moustapha Diaw (Sen) Senegal | 0:02:15 |
50 | Géoffrey Decarvalho (Fra) | |
51 | Inoussa Guébré (CIv) Ivory Coast | 0:02:17 |
52 | Benjamin Trouche (Fra) | 0:02:21 |
53 | Bolodigui Ouattara (CIv) Ivory Coast | 0:02:01 |
54 | Nkama Kouamé (CIv) Ivory Coast | 0:02:49 |
55 | Aubiege Soglo (Ben) Benin | 0:06:43 |
56 | Dorian Albouy (Fra) | 0:09:01 |
57 | Yacouba Togola (Mli) Mali | 0:09:03 |
58 | Hamidou Diarra (Mli) Mali | 0:12:54 |
59 | Augustin Amoussouvi (Ben) Benin | 0:14:00 |
60 | Chadas Kakpo (Ben) Benin | |
61 | Saliou N'dour (Sen) Senegal | 0:24:00 |
62 | Dodji Toulassi (Tog) Togo | |
63 | Armand Kossavoun (Ben) Benin | 0:32:00 |
64 | Kowouvi Dossouvi (Tog) Togo |
1 | Julien Schick (Fra) | 34:24:52 |
2 | Rasmane Ouedraogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | 0:01:17 |
3 | Damien Leguay (Fra) | 0:01:49 |
4 | Guillaume Soula (Fra) | 0:02:04 |
5 | Ngock Yves Ngue (Cmr) Cameroon | 0:03:05 |
6 | Laurent Mars (Bel) Belgium | 0:03:29 |
7 | Bassirou Kante (CIv) Ivory Coast | 0:03:46 |
8 | Martinien Tega (Cmr) Cameroon | 0:05:59 |
9 | Hamidou Yameogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | 0:08:36 |
10 | Abdul Wahab Sawadogo (Bur) | 0:09:29 |
11 | Becaye Traore (Sen) Senegal | 0:10:21 |
12 | Joseph Sanda (Cmr) Cameroon | 0:13:26 |
13 | Abdoul Aziz Nikiema (Bur) | 0:13:43 |
14 | Wim Botman (Ned) Netherlands | 0:23:41 |
15 | Peter Van Agtmaal (Ned) Netherlands | 0:23:45 |
16 | Christophe Premont (Bel) Belgium | 0:26:33 |
17 | Zbigniew Gucwa (Pol) | 0:26:48 |
18 | Leander Schreurs (Ned) Netherlands | 0:29:17 |
19 | Oumarou Minoungou (Bur) | 0:29:38 |
20 | Boukare Kagambega (Bur) | 0:31:53 |
21 | Benjamin Trouche (Fra) | 0:32:37 |
22 | Clovis Guewa (Cmr) Cameroon | 0:33:49 |
23 | Jérémy Burton (Bel) Belgium | 0:40:06 |
24 | Idissa Ouedraogo (Bur) | 0:44:42 |
25 | Noufou Minoungou (Bur) Burkina Faso | 0:49:36 |
26 | Etienne Tarbagdo (Bur) | |
27 | Damien Tekou (Cmr) Cameroon | 0:56:20 |
28 | Yacouba Yameogo (Bur) | 0:56:35 |
29 | Abdou Sokondo (Bur) | 0:58:38 |
30 | Saidou Tall (Bur) Burkina Faso | 0:59:53 |
31 | Gueswende Sawadogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | 1:01:42 |
32 | Siaka Mariko (Mli) Mali | 1:02:30 |
33 | Laurent Zongo (Bur) | 1:02:38 |
34 | Bolodigui Ouattara (CIv) Ivory Coast | 1:04:37 |
35 | Joris De Boer (Ned) Netherlands | 1:14:09 |
36 | Harouna Ilboudo (Bur) | 1:15:30 |
37 | Rabaki Jeremie Ouedraogo (Bur) Burkina Faso | 1:16:44 |
38 | Guillaume Tourret (Fra) | 1:17:04 |
39 | Massamba Diouf (Sen) Senegal | 1:18:24 |
40 | Mbaye Mor Diop (Sen) Senegal | 1:19:44 |
41 | Bram Delie (Bel) Belgium | 1:21:14 |
42 | Sébastien Destruel (Fra) | 1:25:23 |
43 | Tidiani Sanogo (Mli) Mali | 1:27:52 |
44 | Ben Zakalia Fofana (CIv) Ivory Coast | 1:32:13 |
45 | Moustapha Diaw (Sen) Senegal | 1:46:09 |
46 | Aubiege Soglo (Ben) Benin | 1:46:50 |
47 | Abdoulaye Roamba (Bur) | 1:50:33 |
48 | Idrissa SAWADOGO | 1:54:44 |
49 | Géoffrey Decarvalho (Fra) | 1:59:11 |
50 | Johan Procee (Ned) Netherlands | 1:59:27 |
51 | Nkama Kouamé (CIv) Ivory Coast | 2:07:57 |
52 | Hamidou Diarra (Mli) Mali | 2:12:48 |
53 | Oumar Sangaré (Mli) Mali | 2:18:46 |
54 | Flaubert Douanla (Cmr) Cameroon | 2:20:59 |
55 | Mamadou Coulibaly (CIv) Ivory Coast | 2:25:47 |
56 | Dorian Albouy (Fra) | 2:33:57 |
57 | Saliou N'dour (Sen) Senegal | 2:37:10 |
58 | Augustin Amoussouvi (Ben) Benin | 2:49:22 |
59 | Dodji Toulassi (Tog) Togo | 3:21:08 |
60 | Chadas Kakpo (Ben) Benin | 3:41:20 |
61 | Inoussa Guébré (CIv) Ivory Coast | 4:01:07 |
62 | Kowouvi Dossouvi (Tog) Togo | 4:28:46 |
63 | Yacouba Togola (Mli) Mali | 5:09:32 |
64 | Armand Kossavoun (Ben) Benin | 5:56:48 |

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