The 23rd edition of the annual Chantal Biya International Cycling Tour kicked off in the South regional city of Kribi this morning, with 10 teams of cyclists from nine countries.
Cameroon is represented by two teams—the SNH Velo Club and the Cameroon Cycling National Team—at the competition that will be held from October 3 to October 7.
Launching the tour this morning, the Minister of Sports and Physical Education, Narcisse Mouelle Kombi, urged the cyclists to follow the Olympic rules of fair play.
The tour will take place in nine towns and cities in the Centre and South Regions: Yaounde, Ebolowa, Kribi, Sangmelima, Mvomeka’a, Nkolandom, Nkateng, Mvebe, and Meyomessala.
The first lap, which took place in Kribi from 9 a.m. to 11:44 a.m. today, covered a distance of 109 kilometres.
The race will take place in five laps from Tuesday to Saturday. In the shortest lap, which comes on Friday, cyclists will cover a distance of 95 km, stretching from Sangmelima–Avebe–Mvomeka’a–Meyomessala.
Meanwhile, the longest lap will cover 165.2 km on Wednesday, and it will stretch from Yaounde to Ebolowa and Nkolandom.
Countries that are participating in the tour include Cameroon, Rwanda, Morocco, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Benin, France, and Slovakia.
A Cameroonian has not won the Grand Prix or the yellow jersey since 2017 when Clovis Kamzong emerged as the winner.
Last year, Algerian cyclist Islam Mansouri won the competition after finishing the 99.2km Garoua closed circuit race in 2 hours, 28 minutes, and 38 seconds.
Slovakian cyclist Lukas Kurbis won the yellow jersey in 2021; Rwanda’s Moise Mugisha in 2020; Algeria’s Azzedine Lugab in 2019; and Slovakia’s Juraj Bellan in 2018.
Cameroonians have only won the tour five times: in 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2018. This year, Team Cameroon is seeking to break the six-year deadlock.
The Cameroon Cycling Federation said on September 25 that 12 riders from the country will be participating in this year’s tour under two teams: the Cameroon Cycling National Team and the SNH Velo Club.
