2013 Cowbell National Cycling Tour

..... Brings Kintampo and Techiman to a Standstill
The 6th Stage of the 2013 Cowbell National Cycling Tour brought the center of Ghana (Kintampo) to a standstill when people from all walks of life jammed the finishing point to catch a glimpse of the winners, participants and organisers.

In fact, the sponsors of the Tour, Promasidor Ghana Ltd were very happy at the big turn out and it took some efforts to control the crowd at the Kintampo market / main lorry station.

The 97 kilometers race from Buipe to Kintampo which involved a steep hill, the phase that favored the climbers to excel was won by Francis Tetteh of City Migro.

Climbing expect, Henry Tetteh Djangmah of Die Hard Cycling club who was expected to use his experience placed second, as his team mate Adbul Razak took the third position.

The 61 riders who finished the race did an average of 38.33 kilometers per hour beating the time of 36.3 kilometers per hour in the 2012 race.

Die Hard club emerged the best team at this stage, but Young Stars led by Captain and the sensational Samuel Anim and Isaac Sackey maintained their Green and Yellow jerseys respectively.

The rising star of the Tour, 16 year old Frank Awuku Akuffo who resides at Osu in Accra also maintained his White jersey as the Best Youngest to record the fastest time. He told yours truly the race had been though, but he is learning so many things and will prove to the whole world that he can do what his seniors cannot do. He said the hills and valleys will be where he will show his skill and beat the champions.

Shaaban Mohammed described the cyclists as improving and very soon they can be the best on the continent and compete with top countries like Eritrea and South Africa.

He tasked the media to show more interest in cycling like they do to football and boxing, and in a matter of time Ghana will compete at the world stage.

After ending the race at Kintampo, the bunch of Cowbell branded 36 vehicles and cyclists, together with the National Ambulance moved to the vibrant town of Techiman (where most taxis are Tico) for an exhibition ride and the whole town stood at a standstill to see the show and power of the sport.

From Techiman, the Tour moves back to Kumasi for another Criterion Race, and it is expected that new winner could force their way onto the podium, but the favourites, like Anim and Djangmah will not give the youngsters any chance.

The race moves from Kumasi southwards to Adukrom and then to Koforidua, before going to Ada, Dodze, Denu, back to Ada and finally ending in Accra.

International cycling official Ivorian, Mr. Georges Adou noted that the Ghanaian cyclists are performing well and wished the Ghana Cycling Federation will secure more sponsorships and promote the sport.