Poor showing for Cameroonian cyclists at Gabon Tour

None has mounted the rostrum this far and are at the tail end of the classification table.

It has been a dismal performance from Cameroonian cyclists taking part in the 9th edition of the international cycling tour of Gabon dubbed ‘Tropical Amissa Bongo”. After two laps no Cameroonian has mounted the rostrum for any of the categories of prizes; lap winner, best climber, best African or leader on point tally.

The best Cameroonian on the general classification is Kamzong Abossolo Clovis who appears on the 33rd position with 36 seconds behind the race leader and winner of the first two laps, Chtioui Rafaa of Skydive club in Dubai-United Arab Emirates. Nzeke Geremie, the second Cameroonian appears on the 38th position on the general classification. Tekou Damien Fouko occupies the 46th position.

There is no Cameroonian in the best youth of the race category while Yemeli Herman Herve occupies the last but one position in the climbing category, occupying the 8th position. Kamzong Abossolo and Tekou Damien who are in the contention for the best African category occupy the 15th and 16th positions respectively out of 19 contenders.

The performance of the Cameroonians is a cause for concern given that the Cycling tour of Cameroon will take place barely two weeks after the end of the race in Gabon in that it raises doubts about Cameroon’s ability to win the competition which eluded them last year.

However, there is still room for the Cameroonians to improve on their ranking given that the eight-lap race enters the fourth lap today. The 133-km lap to be run between Ndjole and Lambarene is made of undulating terrain which would favour climbers and sprinters alike. The Cameroonian cyclists will be galvanised by the presence of the president of the Cameroon Cycling federation Honore Yossi and the Minister of Sports and Physical Education.