The second edition of the ECOWAS Cycling Tour has begun on Wednesday from Lagos with the 90 participating cyclists battling for honours on the various stages through Cotonou, Lome thence to Ada and Abidjan.

The Ghana National Cycling team will battle the likes of Burkina Faso, La Cote D’Ivoire, Mali, Nigeria, Niger and Senegal.

The Ghana stage of the 110 km rough stretch of the Tour will start from Ada to Sogakope, where the cyclists will speed towards the finishing point at the Tema roundabout and thence move to Aboso to La Cote D’Ivoire.

Mr Worlanyo Agra, Director General of the National Sports Authority in a speech before the Team’s departure to Lagos, admonished the cyclists to be resolute and disciplined since such values are obvious success indicators in any sporting event.

The NSA boss was of the view that with the kind of seriousness and training regimen they underwent whilst in camp, the prestigious Yellow Jersey was surely within their reach for grabs.

The six member National Cycling Team comprises Henry Tetteh Djangmah of Die Hard Club, Isaac Odonkor—aka-Made in Ghana, Nuru Pardie of Die Hard Club, Samuel Anim of All Stars and Aminu Mohammed of Pacesetters Cycling Club.

The Event has the presence of Burkinabe wizard roller—Yameogo Hamidou who is defending the Yellow Jersey.

The team on arrival at Ada on 16th Feb. will pass the night there and there would be a welcome ceremony with a mini durbar of the Chiefs, elders and people of Ada including the Municipal Chief Executive of Ada and the Paramount Chief Nene Ada.

Among the dignitaries expected to grace the closing ceremony of the Ghana stage are the Minister of Youth and Sports, Clement Kofi Humado, the ECOWAS Director, Chef Du Delegations from the participating countries and President of the Cycling Federation, Mr Sahnoon Mohammed who are expected to deliver their addresses at the end of the event at the Tema round about after which the entourage will proceed to Sekondi-Takoradi.

The Ghana Cycling Federation expressed its appreciation to the consistent effort of their partners and supporters -Promasidor Ghana Limited, Events Unlimited, I Promo, the Ghana Police Service, Immigration, Customs and the National Sports Authority for sponsoring the event as well as the support of the media in propagating the event.