Of course, as a sponsor, we were only too proud of our EPM colleague. What an achievement, commitment and perseverance.

Niels' heroic bike ride reminded us that there is more to life than work. Enterprise Performance Management is a great profession. But what really matters are health, family and friendship.

Wondering how Niels fared? Read his report below and experience it with us. A story that will stay with you.

Report Tour for Life 2023

By Niels van Opzeeland

Friday, Aug. 25

After a long drive, we arrived in Bardonecchia. It's nice to check into the Olympic hotel again. Little has changed since I was here in 2021. However, the city has been badly affected by the mudslides two weeks before. A number of important streets were blocked off as a result. This will also affect us on Sunday when we leave.

Saturday, Aug. 26

The hotel is buzzing with activity. Not only because of the Tour for Life, youth teams from Juventus and a fencing team are also present. The hotel seems pretty full. My cycling partner Pieter and I are going to explore by bike the Col de L'Echelle, a short climb with some steep percentages. Good to acclimate and see where we stand. The conclusion is that it will be a difficult week. I did this col two years a lot easier.

Sunday, Aug. 27

We could not start from the parking lot in Bardonecchia, but had to take cars to a place 10 kilometers away. The first few kilometers were still inaccessible due to the mudslides. In the cold and rain we start the Tour and soon we climb towards Lac Cenis, a 20 km climb.

At the top is the first stop and shivering with cold, we are provided with foil by first aid. After hot broth we descend shivering. In the valley the sun breaks through briefly and it is immediately warm. The Lacets de Montvernier is today's conclusion. A beautiful climb with a lot of curves, where you hope those shoelaces don't spontaneously get tangled.

In the evening, it turns out that another big mud/rock avalanche had taken place in the valley, causing the entire road to be blocked off. We were fortunately spared this misery because the entire "pack" had already passed when the avalanche came down.

Monday, Aug. 28

After a night of rain, it is announced Monday that the Col de la Madeleine may not be climbed due to snow and temperatures around freezing. We ride around it in the direction of Albertville and Col des Saisies. A nice long climb in the rain where we stay warm by the hard pedaling.

At the top is the checkpoint and once again we start the descent shivering. This all goes just fine, what bad weather.

Tuesday, Aug. 29

Today's ride leads us between Annecy and Geneva, overlooking both lakes. A beautiful ride with plenty of altimeters. It started dry for a change and in the afternoon it even turned 18 degrees for a while, but not for long. Soon it was 10 degrees again. The day ended with rain, even though the weather was supposed to be getting better.

Fortunately, we did have dry clothes and shoes every day thanks to the heater in our guide's camper. Delicious! The coffee and dextrose on the way also do us good. Esther and Jop also take beautiful photos and videos with the drone, so we really only have to cycle. 😊

Wednesday, Aug. 30

A new day dawns and it seems dry. It is not really warm yet. On the program is a relatively short trip with few altimeters. We cover the stretch through the Jura and are hard on our way to the Vosges. We arrive at the campground fairly early, around four in the afternoon and still enjoy a nice sun. Cycling is fun that way.

Thursday, Aug. 31

Today is the first of 3 long days where we have to ride around 180 km per day. The first part is fairly flat with some small climbs, but from kilometer 120 we have to get going. To begin with the Ballon d'Alsace. A big climb through beautiful forests, but with a tough finish where the last kilometer is certainly not easy. This was followed by 3 more tough cols and we finished late at the campsite. What a long day that was.

Friday, September 1

The second long ride does not go as expected. It is not a ride with heavy cols, but it is still plenty of altimeters. Somewhere in the beginning my bike partner's rear tire gets a flat. We are assisted by volunteers from the first aid, who can immediately listen to a nasty cough.

Because I don't check the outer tire properly, my partner with his new inner tube punctures again within 5 minutes. Now we remove a hefty metal splinter from the outer tire and with new courage we continue.

The day is not going fast. At the end of the day, my cycling partner becomes more and more exhausted, the energy seems to be running out. We think because not enough pasta was bunkered the night before.

Eventually we arrive late at the second checkpoint, but there we can refuel some new energy. It does eventually ensure that we are brought in last with all the bells and whistles of the motards and broom truck. It is great to see these volunteers staying with us until the last moment to keep an eye on us. Chapeau to these men and women as it gives confidence that we are not left to our own devices!

Saturday, September 2

Day 7. The weather remains very changeable and until today we started each day with leg warmers and rain jackets on. This time we can do without the leg pieces, with just a windstopper. Finally the weather seems to be getting a little better.

It is a beautiful but long ride, during which we occasionally get to hitch a ride with "trains" of other riders. We see beautiful passages as we cross through the French Ardennes into the Belgian Ardennes. There the hills get more erratic, with hefty gradients that hurt.

On the way we are told that we are the last ones, so we speed up to catch up with a small group. We don't want to be hauled in again with horns and alarm bells. Our plan succeeds and we arrive at the campsite after a nice, long descent.

Saturday night is always a party night of sorts, but we also face this one without alcohol. Dinner is a bit more chaotically organized than the other days, though that should not be named. After all, we only have one short ride ahead of us: the grande finale.

Sunday, September 3

Today we ride via the Col de la Redoute, which really does seriously hurt legs and lungs. There are tough sections of 16% where of course the photographer is sitting, taking nice pictures of the pain.

Once again we are in the rear and at the second and last checkpoint we are asked to really drive on. In small groups we finally enter Maastricht where we are welcomed by family and friends, with sports drinks, stroopwafel, gladioli and warm hugs. Tour 2023 is over.

I found it heavier than 2 years ago, probably because of the bad weather and perhaps also because I was less well prepared. In any case, I was a few pounds heavier than 2 years ago and you do drag those up the mountains with you.

In the end, the entire tour raised over €780,000 for cancer research through the Daniel den Hoed fund. Thanks for all the supporters and sponsors who kept faith with us. Thank you to Esther and Jop for the warm camper, coffee, sandwiches, encouragement and grape sugar. We are especially grateful that we were able to complete this!