The 1,000 km for Kom op tegen Kanker started on Thursday for the thirteenth time. More than a thousand cyclists were at the start on Mechelen’s Grote Markt. For four days they stand on the pedals against cancer. Two trips of 125 kilometers to and from Mechelen are planned every day.
The money that participants raise goes to cancer research. Each team pays 5,500 euros starting money to start. An amount that is often raised through donations and all kinds of initiatives.
Team Annelies from Maasmechelen at the start of the 1,000 km for Kom op tegen Kanker. — © rr
Incurable
Team Annelies from Maasmechelen is even at the start with two teams. “Annelies was my wife. In October 2019, just under five years ago, she died of a rare form of cancer at the age of 37,” says Sebastiaan Miermans (41), who has two children with Annelies.
“Initially Annelies was tired. There was nothing else to notice about her. Until we discovered a small bump.” It took some time to determine what that lump was. An angiosarcoma was ultimately diagnosed. “The doctors didn’t know it at first. This shape was that rare,” Sebastiaan explains. “Scans showed that there were already metastases and Annelies was terminally ill. At that moment the world stands still for a moment. That is a blow, but you have to find your way, together with everyone around you.”
More than a thousand cyclists were at the start on Mechelen’s Grote Markt. — © Leen Van de Sande
Eight cyclists
The idea of participating in the 1,000 kilometers for Kom Op Tegen Kanker had been with Sebastiaan for some time. “Now seemed like an appropriate time. And we are immediately ambitious: we are cycling with two teams.”
By participating in the cycling marathon, the family wants to contribute to cancer research. “So that what happened to Annelies might lead to something good,” says Sebastiaan. “On Thursday, two of her brothers left for Glabbeek. In the afternoon the grandfathers took over in the opposite direction. In total we have eight cyclists for our two teams.”
Sebastiaan himself jumps on his bike on Saturday. “Then we drive from Pelt to Mechelen. Will that work smoothly? We are all hopeful. And when things get difficult, I hang my bike behind that of Karolien, Annelies’ sister. Her brothers even cycle the entire 250 kilometers on Friday and Sunday. Not bad. Fortunately, we can count on many supporters. All the nephews and nieces are on duty and we had an outfit specially made. With a four-leaf clover on it, in the spirit of Annelies.”
Sebastiaan (left) with part of Team Annelies. “We are immediately ambitious: we are cycling with two teams.” — © rr
Tapas evening
“We had an outfit specially made. With a four-leaf clover dedicated to Annelies.” — © rr
Team Annelies raised no less than 11,000 euros for Stand Up to Cancer. “We have organized a lot of things, together with the youth movement and family and friends, the children have made things to sell and many have given us gifts. Our tapas evening was a success. That was really something for Annelies, who loved this. There were more than 200 guests. A busy and pleasant evening. The collection went even smoother than hoped. If the cycling isn’t too bad, we might want to do this again next year,” says Sebastiaan.
Record number of participants
The organization will announce how much the 1,000 km for Stand Up to Cancer will raise this year on Sunday evening with a closing party on the Mechelen Grote Markt. “We cannot yet reveal exactly how many teams are participating,” says general manager David Vansteenbrugge of Kom op tegen Kanker. “But I can already say that it is a record number and that we were already above a thousand teams last year. Then we raised almost 6 million euros. That amount will therefore be even higher this year. I can only be satisfied with the efforts of all those thousands of people.”
If you want to make a donation, you can do so via www.teamannelies.be
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