About 1,300 mountain bikers and 125 hikers raised 708,100 euros this weekend for KWF Kankerbestrijding with their participation in the Vrijthof-Vrijthof Challenge. The amount of money was announced on Saturday evening at the Vrijthof in Hilvarenbeek. And this amount is not yet the final final amount, because the bar proceeds and sponsor contributions have not yet been added to this amount. Organizer Willem van Abeelen can hardly believe the sky-high amount: “We never dared to dream this.”
Van Abeelen does not keep it dry with the announcement on the packed square, the discharge is great. “My mom just came over, crying. No, this is goosebumps work.”
It has been an emotionally charged day, on which he thinks on stage about loved ones he himself lost to cancer. Father Jan died of cancer at the age of 67. His sister-in-law Andrea (41) got cancer and had to leave behind two young children and her partner. “But they have given me the inspiration and the strength to do this.”
“You lose your loved ones, they slip away and you are powerless.”
What once started as a ‘small idea’ by Willem has now grown into a major event that participants already refer to as the ‘Brabant Alpe D’Huzes’. He sees it as a big compliment.
“We started this purely to raise money for the fight against cancer. You lose your loved ones, they slip away and you are powerless. That small idea has now become this, it is grandiose.”
Together with his brother Mark, he is the driving force behind the event in their hometown of Hilvarenbeek. A mountain bike tour that started on Saturday morning at the Vrijthof in Maastricht and ended on Saturday afternoon at the Vrijthof in Hilvarenbeek. A route of 160 kilometers, largely unpaved. In the course of Saturday afternoon, participants arrive in Hilvarenbeek, they are welcomed on a catwalk with loud applause.
About 125 walkers also took part, they already left Maastricht on Friday for a walking tour of one hundred kilometers. And then there is a ‘Kids challenge’ for the youngest participants. All participants went looking for donors for their achievements, all for a good cause. The amounts per participant vary from 500 euros to 9,000 euros.
“Everyone has their story. Here are tears of sadness and also of joy.”
“I’m not keeping it dry today, but that happens to a lot of people here. Almost everyone here has had experience with this disease. Everyone has their story. Tears of sorrow and also of joy are shed here. All this money will soon go to KWF Kankerbestrijding for one hundred percent.”
The day was very successful for Van Abeelen. “It went the way we wanted, maybe even better. Except for a few minor falls and fractures, everything went well. Participants are enthusiastic and I now have blue shoulders from the pats on the back. This amount is a nice closing, really fantastic.”
This year is the second edition, in 2019 participants of the Challenge together raised more than 232,000 euros.