Activity Details

ECOWAS Cycling Grand Prix

ECOWAS Grand Prix In partnership with the Centre Cycling League, the ECOWAS Centre for Youth and Sports Development organised a cycling competition on 28 May known as the ‘ECOWAS Grand Prix’. Fifty-three professional cyclists from 13 clubs in Burkina Faso took part in this competition, organised as part of the celebrations marking the 48th anniversary of ECOWAS. Two categories of riders took part in this cycling festival in Burkina Faso. The first race was for juniors and girls over a distance of 13.2 km. The women’s race was won by Bamogo Awa, of the Union Sportive des Forces Armées burkinabè, with an average speed of 27.26 km/h over a time of 29 minutes and three seconds. She was followed by Zoungrana Raïssa, with Bilgo Clarisse taking third place. In the junior boys’ category, the winner, Ouédraogo Idrissa of RCK, completed the race in 24 minutes and 17 seconds at an average speed of 32.61 km/h. In the second stage, the distance covered was 132 km, comprising 30 laps of a 4.4 km closed circuit. The race started on Boulevard Charles de Gaulle in the presence of 53 cyclists from 13 clubs in Burkina Faso. After five laps, 10 riders had dropped out, whilst Issouf Ilboudo was leading the breakaway group. With 10 laps to go, 26 riders abandoned the race, leaving 27 cyclists in contention. The five breakaway riders maintained their lead with six laps to go. However, at the 110-km mark, two more riders broke away from the peloton to join the leading group. Moukaïla Rawende, with a time of 3 hours 27 minutes 14 seconds and an average speed of 38.210 km/h, won first prize. For Burkina Faso’s Minister for Sport and Youth, this race embodies ECOWAS’s commitment to promoting sport and bringing peoples together. He thanked the ECOWAS Resident Representative for the initiative, which demonstrates the friendly relations between ECOWAS and Burkina Faso. The ECOWAS Resident Representative in Burkina Faso, Tiéna Coulibaly, congratulated the Central Cycling League. In his view, the CDJS is an agency working to foster the next generation of sport in the 15 countries of the sub-regional bloc. As a reminder, the ceremonial kick-off for the competition took place outside the ECOWAS mission in Burkina Faso.