Le Figaro Bordeaux
At just 16 years old, Baptiste Marie decided to take on a sporting challenge by bike.
On April 19, in one day, he plans to cycle the 331 kilometers between Bordeaux (Gironde), his city, and Saumur.
His goal: to support his uncle and cousin in their fight, both suffering from cancer, and who live in Saumur, in Maine-et-Loire.
The first, in his fifties, is still fighting to overcome his brain tumor.
The second, struck by the disease at the age of 6, is in remission.
Objectives: to support them in their fights and raise funds to finance research against cancer.
“I think it’s his way of experiencing these different stages that our families go through
,” his father, Christophe Marie, confides to Le
Figaro
.
The
paterfamilias,
who encourages his son in his approach, plans to follow his journey by car to encourage him and
“ensure his safety”
.
Several friends of the teenager should also accompany him to film and comment on the live broadcast of his sporting exploit on the Twitch platform.
Also read Classify cancers differently to improve access to treatments
Life drive
This project was born from a telephone conversation between the two cousins.
“I told him laughing that I was going to come to his house by bike, then I thought about it in the evening and I decided to launch this project
, ”
Baptiste Marie explains to Le
Figaro .
For the high school student who has chosen to risk, to live and to dare, the main worry remains the weather which will fall on him on the day of the great adventure.
“If it rains, I will cycle in the rain.
The 331 kilometers don't scare me, but the weather and the unexpected do,”
simply confides the young man, who is not even a fan of cycling, preferring swimming.
With his youth, Baptiste Marie hopes that his action will find a good response on the internet.
The trace he will keep on social networks is already backed by some personalized clothing, the profits of which he plans to donate to the cause he defends.
On April 19, the departure is scheduled for 8 a.m. and the arrival, 331 kilometers further, at 11 p.m., if his body allows it.
The teenager who is training for this purpose (and who has just broken his latest record by covering 150 kilometers without stopping) plans to take only two breaks during his journey.
A dream that has become a project which is already beginning as a small step in the fight against cancer and a big step for the teenager.