30.05.2011 The Moroccan rider Adil Jelloul ousts the Eritrean Daniel Teklehaymanot, who is preparing his riposte.

Since his impressive ascension in April, Adil Jelloul was almost bound to take over the lead of the UCI Africa Tour Ranking. It was more or less on the cards. He only needed to bridge up a very small gap of 1.66 points to take over from Daniel Teklehaymanot, who had been in the lead for five months and now finds himself 34.33 points behind Jelloul. Third in the new Ranking, another Moroccan, Tarik Chaoufi, is 96 points off the lead.

The change in power came during the second event of the Challenges du Prince, raced around Meknès. Jelloul did not win this event. Nor did he win the first leg around Rabat the day before, where the crown prince started the race by releasing eight doves. But he dragged the best Moroccan riders with him to form a breakaway group where the young riders came out on top. He finished fourth, the same position as the day before, and the same as the next day during the last race. This amazing regularity was enough to send Jelloul, 29 years, to the head of the continental Ranking.

Leader of his national team, the rider from Azrou first discovered cycling with his mountain bike.

« It’s the means of transport for people from his region, at 1500m altitude, near the ski resort Ifrane, » explains the National Technical Director Mustafa Najari. Jelloul has been a full-time road cyclist since 2001. His victories include the Tour du Faso and the Tour du Sénégal (2007) and the Tour of Rwanda (2009). This season he had three objectives: the Tour du Maroc, where he was a victim of severe marking from his rivals, the National Championships where he hopes to take his fifth title, and the final Ranking of the UCI Africa Tour.

In order to consolidate his current position, he will use the Tour de Slovaquie as preparation for the Kwita Izina Cycling Tour, in Rwanda, and the Tour d’Algérie, where he will cross swords with Daniel Teklehaymanot, former leader of the UCI Africa Tour. The last direct confrontation between these two men dates back to the Tropicale Amissa Bongo, in Janaury. The solid Eritrean then disappeared from competition to train at the World Cycling Centre in Aigle, Swizterland.

Jelloul will have a force to contend with, one who at the beginning of May won the time trial and overall classification of the Prix de Saugeais, in France. Teklehaymanot will return to Eritrea at the beginning of June to compete in his National Championships. He is obviously delighted to learn that his country’s capital, Asmara, will host the African Championships, from 9th to 13th November, to replace the Ivory Coast’s candidature.

The battle for the lead of the UCI Africa Tour may well see some new takers, such as Ezzeddine Agab, winner of the Challenge du Prince event. The Algerian, member of the Groupement Pétrolier d’Algérie, has leapt from 18th to 6th place in the Rankings. At the same time, his continental team, formed at the beginning of the season, takes the lead in the teams Ranking with 220.66 points. The South Africans MTN-Qhubeka (197 points) and Bonitas (128.34 points) are second and third respectively.

Led by Jelloul, the Moroccans are well in the mix, with three riders in the top four. Logically, they dominate the nations Ranking with 821 points, in front of Eritrea (505.68 points) and South Africa (463.64 points).

Pierre Carrey