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Cameroon: Hunger Causes French Cyclist to Collapse
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The Post (Buea)
31 March 2008
Posted to the web 31 March 2008
Leocadia Bongben
French Cyclist, Dugue Emmanuel from ViperSports, France, collapsed after the race due to hunger.
Says, Bolgiani Yvonnick, president of his club. "he had not eaten." It was during the 6th International Cycling Tour of Cameroon that finally kicked off in Moukong, Far North Province, on March 29.
While the programme indicated that departure from Maroua was slated for 2.00pm, no food was ready for the athletes. Instead everyone was served 'dry bread', a slice of fish and egg. This was to take the cyclist who after racing the 121km from Moukong-Mokolo-Maroua, under the scourging sun, to Garoua. It takes about four hours for a cyclist to cover the 210km bumpy roads, which the snacks could hardly support.
The Senegalese delegation complained bitterly about the bread, while some officials were served with food. Security officials were not left out as they made futile attempts to get food.
There was also a communication gap between the organising committee and journalists. Some journalists, during departure from Maroua to Moukong, hadn't vehicles despite a prior assurance of a bus for the press. They beseeched the caravan to give them a lift. One of the desperate journalists took a motorcycle and fell four times on his way, before arriving in Moukong.
When it was time to move over to Garoua, drivers who were not paid held their passengers, most of them journalists, hostage. Motorcyclists equally wanted their pay and the Secretary General of the Ministry of Sports and Physical Education, Paul Hannack, is said to have paid FCFA 80 thousand to a certain Ibrahim who was at large.
Phase 5 of the tour, which is the Douala-Nkongsamba lap, was suppressed. According to the Technical Director of the FECYCLIST, Joseph Evouna, the reason, was to enable the International cycling Union Commissioner, Jean Michel Voets to meet up with his programme in Belgium on April 8. To him, it doesn't affect the credibility of the tour.
The Military plane is said to have demanded FCFA 8million for the tour but they now claim they cannot make more than three trips.
Joseph Sanda Winner of First Lap
Though the race was hotly contested between Thiam Abdoulaye of Senegal and Joseph Sanda of the SNH Velo club, Sanda crossed the line first covering the Moukong-Mokolo-Maroua distance of 121km in 3'7 33' thus emerging winner. Thiam was second with the same arrival time as Sanda while a French Thimon Roland from Vipersport, France came third.
Sanda, the winner of the first lap took all the jerseys. Yellow for Leader sponsored by SNH, Blue for best African sponsored by the National social Insurance Fund, Green for best sprinter cyclist sponsored by Cameroon Airports Authority, ADC, White for the youngest cyclist offered by Tradex and Red and White jersey for the best climber offered by Samaritan Insurance.
The performance of the SHN Velo club was spectacular with Tega Martinien, fourth position, Teguimaha Shadrack, 7th and Tekou Fokou Damien, 11th position. Vipersport France is one of the foreign clubs whose performance was equally remarkable with Masse Cyril in the 6th position, Gourgues Herve, 16th position.
Burkinafaso equally did well with Sawadogo Wahab in the 5th position, Tall Saidou in the 10th position.The Chantal Biya Foundation offered the first three, pairs of tennis shoes each.
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It should be noted that the Northern lap is very decisive for the race with the hot sun and a lot of climbing.
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