Cyclist Conquers Mountain for Charity
Our Dutch teacher, Mr. Koenraad, had an incredible experience last Saturday participating in a sports event in France organized by the Belgian organization Sporta Mon Ventoux in support of the charity To Walk Again. This fund, which receives support from professional cyclists like Wout Van Aert, aims to help physically disabled individuals continue to enjoy sports. Thanks to our school’s contribution, Mr. Koenraad was able to take part in the 20th and final edition of this annual event, which turned out to be the most successful one yet.
Mr. Koenraad took on the challenging Canibalette (The name Canibalette is a reference to the best cyclist of all time, Eddy Merckx, whose nickname was The Cannibal, suggested by the daughter of a teammate upon being told by her father of how Merckx would not let anyone else win. Merckx achieved 525 victories over his eighteen-year career), cycling the infamous Mont Ventoux twice in one day along with 135 km and two additional cols: the Col de l’Homme Mort (Dead Man’s Pass) and the Col d’Aulan. This amounted to a total of 3,603 altimeters and 135 km of cycling. Mr. Koenraad completed the 135.44 km route in 7 hours and 33 minutes, burning 4,036 calories in the process. Mr. Koenraad clinched first place on several segments of the ride among a staggering 2,200 participants. At one point during the descent, he reached a speedy 72 km/hour!
