Cycling: Tour du Ghana rolls out with revised route

The 11th International Tour du Ghana gets underway this week with a radically revised 852.4-kilometre route, a strong international field and a renewed appeal for presidential backing as organisers seek to transform the race into a major sporting and tourism attraction.

The November 12–23 event will bring together approximately 90 cyclists from 15 international teams, including entries from Europe, the United States and Britain, for a demanding contest featuring punishing climbs through the Volta, Eastern and Greater Accra regions.

However, the Ghana Cycling Federation (GCF) has been forced to abandon four northern stages in Tamale, Buipe, Kintampo and Sunyani because of safety and logistical concerns, significantly reshaping the race.

The revised itinerary, designed partly to accommodate riders returning from the Tour du Faso, concentrates the competition in the southern corridor while allowing sufficient recovery between stages.

Racing begins on Saturday, November 14, with a 4.9km prologue from James Town to Osu Castle in Accra, before the peloton tackles a 124km Criterium in Kumasi and challenging road races through Nkawkaw, Koforidua and Somanya.

The competition then moves into the Volta Region, where a gruelling 160km fifth stage through Adaklu and an excursion towards Mount Afadjato promise to test the riders’ climbing strength and endurance.

The race reaches its climax on November 22 with a fiercely contested 15-lap finale at Olebu, Ablekuma, bringing the competitive action to a close after a demanding programme.

Although the revised racing distance stands at 852.4km, the teams face a combined travel footprint of 1,598.3km over the 12-day event period.

Beyond the competition, organisers are pursuing a bigger ambition: securing stronger government involvement and positioning the Tour du Ghana as a vehicle for sports development, tourism promotion and economic opportunity.

With a prize purse exceeding GH¢242,000, GCF General Secretary Shaaban Mohammed has appealed to President John Dramani Mahama to personally flag off the final stage, arguing that presidential involvement could dramatically enhance the event’s profile.

Mohammed pointed to Burkina Faso President Captain Ibrahim Traoré’s backing of the 37th Tour du Faso, where the prize pool reportedly tripled to 57.25 million CFA francs, with 4.8 million CFA francs awarded to the overall winner and 900,000 CFA francs to individual stage winners.

He believes Ghana can draw lessons from that example by treating cycling as a strategic national sporting asset rather than a peripheral discipline.

Citing President Mahama’s successful mobilisation of $30 million for the Black Stars’ World Cup campaign, Mohammed argued that similar political leadership could attract corporate investment, promote Ghana’s tourism potential and strengthen cycling development towards the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Corporate support remains central to the event, with Kantanka Automobile, Promasidor through its Cowbell brand, and JL Properties among its backers.

JL Properties CEO, Dr James Condua Orleans-Lindsay, reaffirmed his commitment, stressing that the race must deliver benefits beyond the podium.

The tour also coincides with the federation’s virtual extraordinary meeting ahead of its December electoral congress, placing the race against a backdrop of important decisions about Ghanaian cycling’s future.