Zoundweogo: AS Bessel sprinter Rawend© Moukaila dominated on Sunday during the 2nd edition of the RTB cycling Grand Prix held on Avenue Thomas Sankara, AIB observed on site. The highly anticipated spectacle for Burkinabe cycling enthusiasts took place on Boulevard Thomas Sankara. Rawend© Moukaila emerged victorious, beating Soumaila Ilboudo (AJCK), the winner of the inaugural edition. The AS Bessel rider covered the 127.5km in 3 hours, 12 minutes, and 51 seconds, averaging 39.668 km/h.
According to Burkina Information Agency, at the start of the race, the 94 competitors (including 88 from Burkina Faso and 6 from Mali) from 17 clubs had high ambitions. The first three laps of the 5.1km criterium were rounds of observation, each refining their strategy to surprise their opponents. The fifth round marked the head-to-head battle between AS Bessel and AJCK, the two most in-form teams in Burkina Faso, as they consistently led the day's breakaways and won several primes.
With five laps to go, five riders, including two from AS Bessel and two from AJCK, broke away. They built a lead of nearly two minutes over the peloton. From this breakaway, Rawend© Moukaila attacked in the final 200 meters to win ahead of last year's winner, Soumaila Ilboudo, and Bamassi Soulama (Makafa). Moukaila pocketed 1 million FCFA, the yellow jersey, the trophy, and other gadgets, leaving 600,000 FCFA to runner-up Ilboudo.
Before this race, the women competed, completing six laps of the same 5.1km circuit, for a total distance of 30.6km. In this event, AS Bessel once again emerged victorious, with Lamoussa Zoungrana finishing ahead of last year's winner, Awa Bamogo of USFA. The theme of the 2nd edition is "evocative".
According to the Minister of Communication, Culture, Arts and Tourism, Gilbert Ou©draogo, president of this 2nd edition of the RTB Grand Prix cycling race, "this year's theme, 'With the people, pedaling for victory,' is very evocative and perfectly reflects the spirit and philosophy that guide the government's actions at this time, carried out under the leadership of the comrade President of Faso, Captain Ibrahim Traor©."
Speaking after the competition, Prime Minister Jean Emmanuel Ou©draogo praised the strong turnout for the sporting event and the participation of the Malian team. "This competition demonstrates the resilience of the Burkinab¨ people, the sporting world, and especially the cycling community," he declared, before wishing all the competitors an excellent season and encouraging them to bring home victories from the various competitions in which they will participate.
RTB's Director General, At©ridar Galip Som©, expressed his satisfaction with the successful conclusion of this second edition. "You saw the public enthusiasm surrounding this second edition. We couldn't have hoped for better. It was simply a very successful edition, crowned by the participation of the Malian team."
The major innovation of this second edition of the RTB Cycling Grand Prix is the opening of the competition to other member states of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), illustrating the desire to strengthen sporting cooperation and regional integration. Mali's participation was marked by Tiemoko Diallo's 6th place finish. Due to last-minute constraints, Niger did not travel to Ouagadougou.