Cyclists retrace Tour de France stage from Leuven, 50 years after Lucien Van Impe's victory

More than 30 cycling enthusiasts embarked on a journey from Leuven, retracing the steps of a Tour de France stage exactly 50 years after Belgian cyclist Lucien Van Impe's historic victory. Van Impe, hailing from Erpe-Mere, remains the last Belgian to win the prestigious race, a feat the Coduvelo Tour '76 aims to commemorate.

The organizers, Alain Peleman, Stéphane Vandamme, and Marc Boets, are undertaking an extensive 4,016-kilometer route with a staggering 50,880 meters of elevation gain. The current stage, the fifth, starts in Leuven and heads to Verviers, a relatively modest segment compared to the challenges ahead. Peleman humorously noted the difficulty of stages like the ninth, which spans 260 kilometers from the Lake of Geneva to Alpe d'Huez with 5,100 meters of elevation gain, joking, "We'll be lucky if we arrive before dark."

Beyond honoring their cycling hero, the Coduvelo Tour '76 is a charity event. Participants are raising funds for the Healthy Heart Fund at KU Leuven, which supports research into cardiovascular diseases. Bart Meuris, a fund manager and heart surgeon, officiated the start, highlighting that heart and vascular diseases remain leading causes of death alongside cancer. He stressed the importance of healthy diet and exercise for cardiovascular health.

Peleman's personal connection to the cause stems from losing both parents to heart conditions. He also noted that many young cyclists experience heart problems, making the choice of beneficiary deeply personal. The cycling tour is scheduled to conclude on July 3rd, with the peloton crossing the finish line at the Arc de Triomphe in Paris.