Schick takes over race lead as break gains big time

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Frenchman Julien Schick became the fourth and possibly last leader of the Tour du Faso on Stage 4 on a day won by Dutchman Leander Schreurs, who soloed to the line five seconds ahead of the sprint led home by the race's best African rider, Rasmane Ouedraogo (Burkina Faso).

Much to the relief of the peloton, Stage 4 from Bani to Kaya started under cloudy skies, and it was obvious from the start that most racers were hoping for a more relaxing ride than Stage 3’s scorcher.

Shortly after departing from Bani, a threatening 19-man breakaway slipped away from the field. Unfortunately for the Belgian race leader Christophe Premont, the break contained three French contenders: Julien Schick and Guillaume Soula from Team Reine Blanche, and Damien Leguay from Ile de France.

Also present was Burkina Faso’s star rider, Rasmané Ouedraogo, surrounded by several of his countrymen. Driven by France and Burkina Faso, the break quickly gained a sizable advantage. Laurent Mars, Belgium’s only rider in the break, was not in contention for the GC, so the French and Burkina Faso throttled the front of the breakaway while the lone Belgian stayed at the back.

The peloton was content to ride calmly as the Belgian team rode helplessly in pursuit of the leaders. By the 80 kilometer mark, the breakaway held a seven minute gap as the French and Burkina teams worked to strengthen their advantage.

Arriving in Kaya, the gap had grown to over twenty minutes, effectively guaranteeing that the winner of the 2010 Tour du Faso will come from this breakaway.

In the final six kilometers, individual riders began attacking the breakaway. Racers from Cameroon and Senegal launched moves that were neutralized by the French. With three kilometers remaining, Leander Schreurs of the Netherlands launched a solo attack. The tall rouleur stretched his gap to several hundred meters, crossing the line as the breakaway started their final sprint. Ouedraogo pounded his bar in frustration as he claimed second place in the breakaway sprint, 5 seconds behind Schreurs. In consolation, Ouedraogo moves into the green points jersey, and retains the jersey for top African, as he currently sits second in the general classification.

Tuesday’s 5th stage will cover 98.3km from Linoghin to Koupela. The Burkina teams will surely fight to move Ouedraogo into the yellow jersey, facing great resistance from the three French riders who surround him in the top 4.

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