More than 1,000 cyclists participate in the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie until Sunday

About 1000 cyclists ride between Saguenay and Montérégie. (File photo)

Physical activity is in the spotlight this weekend. Nearly 1,000 cyclists cycle from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean to Montérégie as part of the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie. At the same time, the entire population is invited to get moving to raise the Grand Défi counter to one million kilometers traveled by Quebecers.

The 1,110 cyclists, divided into 222 teams left the city of La Baie, in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, on Thursday evening to complete a 1,000-kilometre course to the municipality of Varennes, in Montérégie. They must reach the finish line at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday.

This is a record number of participants, according to the communications director of the Grand Défi, Chantale Taillon. Last year, 1,075 cyclists took part in the event.

Three million dollars were raised this year. And since the start of the Grand Défi, with the [challenge of] 1000 kilometers only, we have raised $30 million so far, says Ms. Taillon, adding that the Grand Défi Pierre Lavoie is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The funds raised are used to promote physical activity among young people.

What people know about the 1000 km, yes they are cyclists who are doing an extraordinary challenge, but they are also doing it because they are raising funds for the school in their area, in their neighborhood. The money they collect is brought back to their own community, says Ms. Taillon.

The cyclists will stop in several cities during of their journey, including Lévis, Victoriaville and Bromont.

Friday and Saturday, all Quebecers are invited to walk, run, swim or row to participate in the “1,000,000 kilometers together” challenge. Just walk a kilometer to be able to register for the activity on the event website, in order to increase the Grand Challenge counter. Citizens have until midnight Saturday to do so.

As of Friday, more than 30,000 people had entered the number of kilometers they had traveled on the Grand Défi site.

We had an extraordinary turnout on x27;last year we almost reached three million kilometres. But last year, the event was over four days, recalls the director of communications. This weekend, the challenge has been reduced to two days, and the kilometer target has also been reduced.

This is the fourth version of this collective challenge, which was put in place during the pandemic, when social distancing was in order.

For the first time this year, the two challenges converged during a three-kilometre walk in Quebec City on Saturday morning. Citizens and cyclists participating in the Grand Défi gathered in front of Université Laval to complete a walking course.

This year is the last year for the challenge to take place. 1000 kilometers on a bike in its current form, Grand Défi founder Pierre Lavoie announced Thursday.

There are 225 recreational vehicles (RVs) on the road right now. And at the environmental level, we had been asking ourselves serious questions for a while, explains Chantale Taillon.

The event will be back next year, but from #x27;a way that is more respectful of the environment, specifies Ms. Taillon, before adding that the Grand Défi team is currently looking into the question.