Mont-Tremblant, September 26, 2017 – The first edition of the Bonneville 808 Challenge presented by Fenplast in collaboration with Samson Groupe Conseil for the benefit of the Quebec Foundation for Athletic Excellence (FAEQ) took place this weekend in Mont-Tremblant under the brightest sun. 170 teams, representing nearly 380 cyclists in total, took on the challenge of this 808 km or 404 km ride, to be completed solo or as a relay in teams of 2 or 4 cyclists.
«I am very proud and moved by the success of this first edition of the Défi 808 Bonneville. I had long wanted to offer people a major cycling event where everyone could choose their challenge, push their own limits, and have a unique experience for a whole weekend of cycling, sweating, helping each other, and contributing to making a difference in the journey of our student-athletes, our leaders of tomorrow. The excitement and camaraderie were present, and I'm already looking forward to next year,» said Dany Bonneville, president and founder of Défi 808 Bonneville, who himself completed the ultimate 808 km solo challenge in 34 hours and 40 minutes without sleeping, under sweltering heat.
The president of the FAEQ, Claude Chagnon, also rejoiced at this first edition: «This major public fundraising event is a first for the Foundation, and we can say mission accomplished. The participants, partners, volunteers, and current and former scholarship recipients in attendance showed their enthusiasm and desire to return next year in large numbers. The amount raised will allow us to achieve our goal of awarding $1,350,000 $ in individual scholarships to nearly 475 student-athletes in 2017,» he stated.
Dedicated sponsors and partners
For this first edition, the organizing committee of the Défi 808 Bonneville was able to count on the support of numerous sponsors, partners, and suppliers such as Produits Neptune, Maisons Bonneville, Lefebvre & Benoît, Coaching Financier Trek, SS Lacasse, Cycle Néron, SAS, Powerwatts, Kronobar, Boscus, Lowe’s, Saputo, Stelpro, Lounge Factory, Naya, Albi Le Géant, National Bank, and National Bank Financial.
Fellows and former fellows who are participating and getting involved
Several FAEQ scholarship holders and former scholarship holders participated in this first edition, including Lyne Bessette, Hugues Fournel, Simon-Pierre Gauthier, Alex Genest, Martin Gilbert, Mathieu Laforest, Audrey Lemieux, Charles Moreau, François Parisien, and Gabrielle Pilote-Fortin.
Several other former scholarship recipients also agreed to be involved in this sporting weekend as volunteers, namely Marie-Eve Beauchemin-Nadeau, Éric Guay, Mikaël Kingsbury, Joëlle Numainville, Marie-Christine Roussy, not to mention the 2017 event spokespersons Félix Auger Aliassime, Antoine Duchesne, Alex Harvey, Émilie Heymans, Amélie Kretz, and Annie Pelletier.
