…Ouagadougou to Kaya 152.15km 37th Tour du Faso 2026 Starts In Style
Team Ghana opened its campaign at the 37th Tour du Faso with a performance full of courage, discipline and promise as the continent’s biggest cycling spectacle roared into life today from Ouagadougou to Kaya. Writes Elizabeth Gyamfi (Burkina Faso)
In front of thousands of cheering fans, Ghana’s six-man team lined up against Africa’s elite under the scorching Burkinabe sun for the demanding 152.15km opener.
The stage was won brilliantly by Dutchman Tom Wijfje in a time of 3h 29min 10s, at a blistering average speed of 43.644 km/h, ahead of Burkina Faso’s Souleymane Koné (Bib and South Africa’s Gustave Basson.
This edition started with 80 riders from 14 teams after Team Rwanda withdrew for not meeting the UCI minimum of 4 riders, and with a huge morale boost as Sports Minister Annick Pikbougoum announced that prize money has been tripled by the President of Faso.
Ghana’s Debutants Impress: Farrakhan Shabaan Jr. Mohammed was just unlucky.
For Team Ghana, where five of the six riders were making their Tour du Faso debut, it was a day of big lessons and even bigger heart.
Ampaw Ranford Sowah, Philip Akporh and Alotey Lynford were outstanding. Composed and fearless, they stayed with the main peloton for long stretches, negotiated the crosswinds and the hot-point sprints at Korsimoro, and avoided the chaos on the fast, dusty road to Kaya.
Issah Illiasu, the only rider with previous Tour experience, led like a true captain. He brought his A-game, guiding the young squad, shouting instructions, closing gaps and keeping the Ghanaian jerseys together when the race threatened to split.
Adam Hamdan (82) also dug deep to complete the full distance, gaining vital kilometres in what is considered Africa’s toughest tour.
The hard-luck story of the day was Mohammed (83), who was riding strongly and doing everything right, well-positioned in the bunch and showing great confidence on his debut, until an unfortunate accident ended his race prematurely. Though he could not finish the stage, his performance up to that point won him many admirers and proved he belongs at this level. The team and technical staff have confirmed he is stable and receiving attention.
Led by Zakari Abdulwahab from Pacesetter Cycling Club, Ghana showed that they did not come to Burkina Faso just to participate; they came to compete. For a debutant-heavy team to finish four riders safely in the bunch on such a fast opening stage is a huge statement.
With nine more stages to go, the Tour has just begun. The lessons from Kaya will make Ghana stronger for tomorrow.
