More than a thousand people from Brabant conquer the mythical mountain of Alpe d’Huez in France once or more on Thursday 1 June. They do this by cycling, walking or running to raise money for cancer research. Omroep Brabant reports on Alpe d’HuZes all day long. You can follow the event live on TV and online from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Reporters Raymond Merkx and Hannelore Struijs are present in the South of France for Omroep Brabant. Raymond will give the presentation on Thursday. Hannelore goes looking for Brabanders and their special stories among the more than five thousand participants on the mountain.
Of the nearly 5400 participants, 1081 come from our province. The oldest is Anny Marijnissen (77) from Tilburg. She walks to the top of the Alpe d’Huez.
Of course, Hannelore will also visit the famous Dutch Bocht 7 where the participants will receive an extra motivating boost through the encouragement of the many spectators.
200 million euros
The Alpe d’Huzes event is held for the sixteenth time. The money raised by the participants is used for cancer research and improving the quality of life of people with the disease. Participants have organized their own campaigns to raise money. The motto of the event is Giving up is not an option.
During the past editions of Alpe D’HuZes, a total of around 200 million euros has been raised to finance more than three hundred cancer studies. In 2022, the proceeds were just over 16 million euros.
The Alpe d’Huez is 14 kilometers long and has 21 bends. And those are not given to the participants as a gift. Conquering the mountain also symbolizes the difficult road that cancer patients go through and for whom giving up is not an option.