The 6th stage of the Tour of Gabon, the Tropicale Amissa Bongo, which took place on a circuit laid out in the streets of Port-Gentil on Saturday January 28, upset the general classification of the race on the eve of the final finish. in Libreville. The river breakaway of 14 riders, triggered by the Gabonese Glenne Moulingui just after the real start, went to the end of the 127 kilometers. Estonian Karl Patrick Lauk (Bingoal-BW) won ahead of Frenchman Geoffrey Soupe (Total Energies). The latter took the opportunity to take back the leader’s yellow jersey which he had already put on after his victory at Oyem last Monday. Otherwise, the day also smiled on the African runners. First to the hero of an entire country, Glenne Moulingui, who finished 12th in the stage – the best performance in the history of the event since its inception for a Gabonese rider! — and picked up the Fighting Spirit Award. But also to the Algerian Hamza Amari and the Mauritian Christopher Rougier-Lagane present in the breakaway. They find themselves respectively on the second and third steps of the podium of the general classification, on the eve of the last stage. Again, a first since 2015.

For their part, the runners of the Benin selection, which is the second participation in sixteen editions, suffered again during this day. Since the start from Bitam last Monday, they have been trying hard to keep up with the pace of the peloton, but have to settle for a courageous finish, far from the front of the race.

Far from discouraging them, it is rather part of the path by which they know they have to pass in the middle of a peloton with professional riders skimming international races but also cyclists from the best African selections. “We are here to learn among great teams, like Total Energies or Eritrea, explained at the start of the stage Honoré Kinnouhezan. The main objective for us is to arrive in Libreville on Sunday, without finishing late and without giving up. » Unfortunately, if the team was still complete on Saturday morning, Kinnouhezan, victim of health problems, finally had to dismount before the end of the stage.

If they do not play the leading roles, the Beninese runners nevertheless had the encouragement of a personality from their country who came especially from Cotonou: Romuald Hazoumè.

An internationally recognized contemporary artist, he exhibits in the greatest museums in the world. Descendant of a prestigious lineage: his ancestor was a babalawo, high priest of the fâ who came from Nigeria to the court of the king of Porto-Novo, he grew up in a Catholic family of Yoruba origin which remained in contact with the cult of the ancestors, such as voodoo, a practice which marked him deeply. Known for his series of Bidon masks, he recently exhibited his work The King’s Mouth in the UK as part of the bicentenary commemorations of Parliament’s Slave Trade Act 1807.

What is such an illustrious character doing at the Tropicale Amissa Bongo? It’s simply because he fell in love with cycling to the point of becoming the president of the Beninese Cycling Federation. That was almost six years ago. And by the very admission of his runners, this man is revolutionizing the sport in their country. Wearing his iconic kepi covered with pins, he motivated his troops at the start of the stage, announcing to them the increase of their race bonus by 50% for this week in Gabonese lands. “They had to be rewarded for what they did, because those boys blew me away!” They managed to keep up with the pace of the day yesterday [Friday] in a peloton traveling at almost 50 km/h! It’s really amazing, because we have a young team, these kids are just starting to ride bikes…”

Advised by Jonathan Boyer – an American professional rider in the 1980s who developed cycling in Rwanda in the late 2000s to make it one of the best on the continent in this sport – the president of the Benin federation set up an ambitious development program. “Jock Boyer is the real conductor, he gives us advice, but above all, he believes in us and respects our strategic development plan which runs until 2032”, says Romuald Hazoumè. Setting up detection races throughout Benin for young people aged 14 to 16, boys and girls, helping to create local clubs, relaunching the Tour of Benin (registered on the UCI continental calendar, the International Cycling Union)… and it is already starting to pay off. “We have made an incredible leap in a few years”, appreciates the artist who continues: “Not long ago, Benin was not even classified among the African nations at the UCI. In four years, we’ve moved up to 15th place! To do this, we rely on young people, because it’s important to start cycling early enough, which we don’t do in Africa. The detection will allow us to find really gifted kids, with abilities. Because in Africa, like everywhere in the world, talent is like a potato, it grows everywhere! »

And Romuald Hazoumè wants to put all the chances on the side of his foals: “Professional teams practice scientific cycling, based on medical and dietary monitoring, and with state-of-the-art equipment. We want to do the same! The young people we identify come to the headquarters of the federation to take tests, and according to their abilities we invest in them. The national team has also bought around 20 bikes from former German World Tour outfit Bora-Hansgrohe. “All this at unbeatable prices, thanks to the contacts of Jonathan Boyer, rejoices the president. We were also provided with connected home-trainers allowing us to participate in virtual competitions…” The federation has also won a financial partnership with Sobebra, the breweries of Benin. “People who help us trust us because they see what the money is for,” he continues. But it doesn’t stop with the riders: “We have trained journalists, coaches, we are training mechanics, and now we are waiting for the UCI to help us train commissaires. It takes time to move the international body, but we have a clock in mind! »

And Romuald Hazoumè wants to go even further. He wants to build a velodrome in his country. “Look at the morphology of West Africans. We are not very tall, unlike the Sahelians, and we are not great long-distance runners, like the Eritreans or the Kenyans… But our athletes have power, they have a track or sprint build. This is where I think we can spread the most. I’ve been thinking about it for 15 years, my idea is to create a cycling academy, with a velodrome in the centre, hotels around it, but also a vegetable garden and an orchard, a circuit laid out in the 10-hectare park that would surround the complex to teach all the kids the first basics of cycling…” And the artistic spirit of the boss of the Squirrels of cycling is never far away. He would like the velodrome to also host concerts, in order to self-finance the project. And that the whole is beautiful, even seen from the sky…

In short, Romuald Hazoumè sees big for his country and struggles to carry out this titanic project. To the point of devoting a lot of energy to it: “Cycling now takes up 80% of my time, and the rest is for my work,” he admits. It groans a lot at the level of galleries and museums, but I deal with it! We only have one life, and we have to do things that we enjoy! I still manage to combine the two and it’s true that money doesn’t interest me. If that was the case, I wouldn’t be playing president of the Beninese Cycling Federation right now! And to conclude: “For me, the future of cycling is in Africa, more in Europe.” But for that, we have to change behavior in our respective countries. If States, Ministries of Sports and Presidents of National Federations take their responsibilities, we can move forward! »