Hard data of the day

Date: Thursday 26 May
From: Pusocq Barbaste
To: Bagnères de Bigorre

# kilometers: 150
# altimeters: 1,600
# flat tyres: 3
# bananas consumed: 42
# hours on the bike (shortest): 6
# hours on the bike (longest): 6

Hero of the day

We made it to our final destination, Bagnères de Bigorre. All that remains is one small climb.

As I played my “we are all heroes” card earlier this week, choosing our hero of the day was not easy: Frederiek Van Tornhout for always trying to keep spirits high? The audit partners, and especially Ben Vandeweyer, for making sure the bananas were properly counted? Dirk “il metronomo” Hermans for riding in front 750 km (!!!) of the 815 km we have cycled to date? 

They are, of course, heroes, but the “heroes of today” are the five female partners in our group. They made the difference during this trip. As confirmed by all the old-timers, they have been riding hard and have contributed tremendously to the good atmosphere. 

Trivia of the day

Did you know that this wonderful cycling experience started more than 25 years ago, when a young, ambitious, newly promoted young Deloitte manager promised himself to ride his bicycle to Lourdes if one day he would be made partner? The true “miracle” happened in 2005, when Dirk Cleymans was promoted to Audit partner.

He was joined on his pilgrimage by six other Deloitte partners, all keen on experiencing what, at the time, seemed to be a once-in-a-lifetime adventure… One of their iconic pictures even made it to the Annual Report of Deloitte Global in 2006: 180,000 copies with the seven Deloitte Belgium cycling partners on the cover.

Since then more and more partners have joined these fantastic bi-annual Deloitte Partners Cycling events… The Mont Ventoux, Alpe d’Huez, Granada, Rome, and so many other destinations followed. And, now we are back where it all started: Lourdes/Bagnères de Bigorre, to climb one more time the unique Tourmalet, in the spirit of true partnership and camaraderie. 

Over all these years, more than €400,000 has been raised for several good causes close to our hearts, and this year we aim to pass €500,000. Please help us in reaching that goal.   
 

Story of the day

Today, we tell the story of the day with five pictures that say it all:

Daily group picture: Charlotte brightens up our day already before the start

First stop: This is what this trip is also about: partners having good conversations

Lunch stop: Deloitte partners having a party in the car park 

Evaluation of the ride by Marc Mertens and Filip Deschietere, aka our very own Statler and Waldorf

Daily inspection by the beer police squad: It is for your own safety, right?