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Paul Daumont is a young Burkinabè cyclist who will participate in the Olympics in Tokyo. He is currently cycling the biggest jump in West and Central Africa.
From day one of the Olympics, he will be on the track, or rather on the road. A few tens of kilometers southwest of Tokyo, 21-year-old Paul Daumont, of whom almost four are on a racing bike, is off for his toughest and most important road race.
He thinks about it every day: “We are beginning to feel the pressure and the enormous event of fact. It’s a huge privilege. It is only now that I realize the importance of my choice because, for example, in 2016 I have not yet started cycling during the recent Olympic Games. And to say to myself that in 2021 I will be at the beginning of this race together with the biggest champion of the year with my national jersey on my shoulders, it is truly an honor. “
Tour of Benin won and best sprinter in the Tour of Cameroon
An honor earlier, and he also hopes for fun by participating in this race. This year, as he prepared in Ouagadougou for his degree in management and marketing, he trained as best he could with determination, courage and will.
And it has yielded results since he won the Tour du Bénin in May and then two stages at the Tour du Cameroun in early June. He’s the best sprinter’s green jersey as a bonus. These results are good for confidence before going up against the bigger and more impressive ones.
“It should not be too much of a shock. Because an amateur runner like me, who mainly runs in Africa, ends up with the best runners in the world, I should not be too impressed because it can affect my performance, he explains. I can be intimidated so I try to prepare myself as well as possible psychologically. I hope this can help me stay natural and approach the competition as calmly as possible. ”
Humble, respectful and composed, Paul Daumont is a tall, slender boy with a sincere smile and selected words. He is a complete runner and is considered the greatest prospects in West and Central Africa.
Laurent Bezault, Africa Adviser to the International Cycling Union (UCI), confirms: “So it’s safe. He is someone who must continue to follow. I hope that when he finishes this year, and we have already discussed this, that from 2022 he can therefore join a good national division club in France or do a year at the World Cycling Center in Aigle in Switzerland. Or maybe find him a continental team. I think there is a great opportunity for this region in Africa with Paul. So it is certain that the Olympic Games for him will be a fantastic experience and a new step that he will take in his development. ”
So many roads have traveled since his birth in Bangui by a French father and a Central African mother.
Towards an escape on Japanese roads
Paul traveled the continent in suitcases from a logistical father: Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Togo, Ivory Coast and finally Burkina and Bobo Dioulasso … Today he travels alone. His father Xavier is proud.
“It is a great pride to say that we have achieved the education we wanted to give him. I am retired and stayed in Africa for him, says his father Xavier Daumont. To be able to support him in his progress here in Burkina. Of course he will one day go. This is normal. It’s even my wish that he could join a team in France or in Europe. “
Leaving to move forward and continuing to dream … For this, Paul sees at the moment that he is breaking out on the Japanese roads.
“Of course, a break from the Olympics would be really good! Being able to be on TV, be in a breakout … or still be present in the final, even if you do not win a medal. It would already be huge and it would be a huge springboard. “
And after the race, Paul knows his program. If he is authorized, he will go into athletics to support his countrymen Fabrice Zango, the king of triple jump.
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