Poland's Gucwa claims scorcher of a stage

Zbigniew Gucwa claimed the scorching second stage of the Tour du Faso, while Laurent Mars moved into the yellow jersey. Gucwa sprinted to victory over a greatly diminished peloton in a race of attrition. Burkina Faso placed two riders in the first four, coming ever-closer to winning on home soil.

Stage two followed much of the same route as stage 1, travelling in the opposite direction to return to Ouagadougou, the capital city, before continuing to the finish in Ziniaré. Despite starting in the cool morning, temperatures quickly exceeded 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) as the peloton sped along the flat roads of northern Burkina Faso.

Leading into the first intermediate sprint, the field split into several smaller groups. A selection of seven riders went clear after the sprint. With good representation from the African teams, the small peloton allowed the breakaway to achieve a gap that fluctuated between one and two minutes.

The seven riders arrived in Ouagadougou to thunderous applause from the hometown crowd that lined the streets of the sprawling capital. A Burkina Faso rider claimed the intermediate sprint in downtown Ouagadougou.

The peloton also put on a show for the crowd, accelerating single-file through the dusty streets. As riders continued to drop from the peloton, the breakaway was absorbed between Ouagadougou and Ziniaré.

Approaching the finish Jérémy Burton (Belgium) made an audacious solo attempt. He crossed the red banner solo with 1k to go. Zbigniew Gucwa launched a long sprint 500 meters before the line, passing Burton and accelerating ahead of the Burkina National Team’s valiant effort to claim victory.

The Polish sprinter riding for the French composite Team Reine Blanche had time to raise his hands as he crossed the line ahead of Rasmané Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso National Team) and Laurent Mars (Belgium). Although yellow jersey Peter Van Agtmaal (Holland) finished in fifth position, Mars claimed the yellow jersey through time bonuses, while Rasmané Ouedraogo retained the jersey of Best African Rider.

Sunday’s third stage will be the longest of the 2010 Tour du Faso, covering 163.5km from Kaya to Dori. Featuring two sections of unpaved piste, the stage may present an opportunity for the local teams who are accustomed West Africa’s challenging roads.