Ebola fears force cancellation of major African race, Tour du Faso (+ video)

This year’s edition of one of Africa’s highest profile stage race, the Tour du Faso, has been cancelled because of fears of the Ebola virus, which has claimed more than 3,300 lives in western Africa, being carried into the country by riders from abroad.

The 28th edition of the UCI Africa Tour 2.2 race was due to run from 24 October to 2 November, but the Burkina Faso government has ordered that it should not be held this year, reports RFI.fr, the website of France’s publicly-owned worldwide radio service.

Race organiser Francis Ducreux, a two-time participant in the Tour de France in a racing career that spanned the late 1960s and early 1970s, told RFI that he believed the cancellation of the race was “a very good thing,” given that “the World Health Organization has announced very high figures regarding the virus.”

He noted that  Burkina Faso has not closed its borders, and that other events such as an international crafts fair in the country’s capital, Ouagadougou, would go ahead, as will another cycling event, the Grand Prix de l’Impossible on 7 and 8 November, although the field for that is exclusively made up of domestic riders.

However, both the national cycling federation and Ducreux were said to be surprised by the Tour du Faso’s cancellation. “We were told there was no problem,” he explained, adding that the blow had come out of the blue.

“But given the progress of the Ebola virus, I think the authorities were right to cancel," he conceded, adding that there would be no “sporting or financial consequences” and that the UCI had been “understanding” of the situation.

He concluded: “It will be a first. This is the only African tour that has taken place without interruption for 28 years.”

Originally an amateur race and opened to professionals in 1999, attracting riders from both Europe and Africa, the Tour du Faso has reached a wider audience outside its home continent through being featured in magazines such as Rouleur.

It is also the subject of an eponymous 90-minute documentary released this year and filmed by German director, Wilm Huygen. Here’s the trailer.