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Brussels basks in sun for second pedal boat championship.

ReutersJune 19, 2023

Belgian Capital Hosts Thrilling Pedal Boat World Championship

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The Belgian capital hosted its second annual pedal boat world championship on Sunday in which competitors raced in a four-hour relay and vied for best costume.

Organiser Jean-Christophe Ghys said the teams were mainly from Belgium but some were also from Spain, France, and England.

“Some will say it’s about talent but talent without work takes you nowhere. You have to train… teams can train here all year round. We can see early in the year some teams training and it gives us an idea of what the quality will be and we’re not disappointed this year,” Ghys told Reuters.

Taking place over two weekends in one of Brussels’ biggest parks, the Bois de la Cambre, the atmosphere was festive with loud music and alcohol. For some, the competition was strategic and more fierce with one participant seen falling into the lake in his haste to rotate with another team member.

For others, the event was about the costume competition and hanging out with friends, said Kathia El Yassini who was a member of the 80s theme team and kept herself hydrated with white wine.

Other teams dressed up as “Where’s Waldo?” and pirates.

The pedal boats must continually move for four hours in a 420-meter circuit. Twenty-two teams participated on Sunday and mid-way through the race, the fastest lap time stood at five minutes and 21 seconds. A team of eight men called “Kefir” won the event after completing 54 laps.

“It’s my first time here, I came for fun, fun, fun!” Romain Delpierre, a 28-year old primary school teacher with another team, said.

“It looks like nothing when you stand here, you’d think it’s relaxing but it’s actually quite intense and really makes you hot.”

(Reporting by Julia Payne and Bart Biesemans; Editing by Christian Radnedge)