44 days after their departure from Rio de Janeiro, the two top teams are launching tonight into the final stage of crossing the South American continent from East to West. Gérard and Cédric versus Pauline and Aurélie. Nice against Lille. Men against Women. Who will win this incredible expedition that has taken these two pairs from the Atlantic to the Pacific?
A journey through Brazil, Bolivia, and Peru that has deeply affected the father and son. They know they will never forget what they have experienced there. In their eyes or in their voices, one can still tell that they’ve had an exceptional experience. Gérard is adamant when asked if he would do Peking Express again: “If I had to do it over, I would leave tomorrow. I would act in the same way during the adventure since it worked. The only thing, the pleasure was not there at the time because there was so much stress. We have it now.”
Cédric, for his part, simply regrets “not having taken the time to chat with the locals. We could barely thank them because each time we had to quickly look for another car. Moreover, not speaking the language very well didn’t help communicate with them at first. It’s a pity, but it’s the only thing I would change if I had to do it over.”
No matter what happens tonight, both of them keep beautiful memories of the race. Both primarily recall the encounters they made there. The father remembers “the evening and party at Laura’s, by Lake Titicaca, but also the generosity of the people. As Joël would say, they don’t have much but they have the most important thing, the heart.” His son goes even further: “If I have to remember just one thing, it’s the encounters. We owe everything to the locals, and to no one else. If they hadn’t been so great, we’d still be under the Christ the Redeemer. I say a big thank you to them.”
Gérard and Cédric have traveled through three beautiful countries and seen so many splendid landscapes. Yet, if they have to keep only one memory, it would be “at the end of the dune desert when the Pacific Ocean appeared with only the Peking Express flag in this immensity. We thought, even if we don’t know what he went through, that we were like Christopher Columbus when he discovered America. It was extraordinary at that moment.” A moment of joy after a month and a half of hardships. From big arguments to heart cries and tears, the two from Nice experienced everything. They who came to rediscover each other were served. Gérard is fulfilled in this respect even though not everything was easy: “I lost the teenager and I discovered a man. I found a man with a strong character. But above all, I sacrificed myself for him all along the adventure. I slept on a chair while he was on a bench, I was on the springs while he was on a mattress, I gave him a hamburger since there was only one. For me, it was normal that I do this for him. He’s my son.” As for Cédric, he wanted “mainly to have a beautiful moment with my father. I wanted to live a unique adventure while there still was time, and no one can ever take away what we experienced.”
Even though they experienced moments of tension, they quickly forgot them. Now Gérard thinks that “my son disrespected me a bit at times but it was due to the game, the stress. In life, there is mutual respect.” The other concerned agrees: “It was our way of motivating ourselves and moving forward. We were a team of buddies, with very strong ties. There was nothing mean in what I said, it was just to go further and pass the stages. In the evening, in the families, he found his place as a father and I as a son.”
The relationships with the candidates were not always smooth either because even though they made very good friends such as Terence, Olivia, Morta, Loulou, Jean-Pierre, Christila, Delphine, and Cynthia, they also had very bad relations with others. Particularly, Joël. Gérard recalls the highlight of the 11th stage, the immunity challenge during which Pauline and the hairdresser from Marseille teamed up against him: “I blame Joël for not coming to tell me he wanted to eliminate me. He taunted us, he pranced around. He did everything to make me crack. What he didn’t know was that I am even stronger when I am angry.” The man from Nice had the last word by making it to the finale at the expense of his opponent. Cédric also has his explanation for this evolution of the relationships: “As we progressed, the race took over again and everyone didn’t accept what the others were doing. It’s normal, there was a lot of tension.”
The two Azureans have only one regret and once again, Gérard first thinks of his son, that he could not see Machu Picchu. But the father is very clear: “The main thing is to win Peking Express, but it’s going to be difficult. Fortunately, we have the mental strength, we are strong even though the other team also has a strong mindset. You no longer have the right to make a mistake in the final stretch. I speak as we did before the finale, it’s what we thought before launching into the streets of Lima. Between Cédric and me, there will be no问题如果他像往常一样。如果他不专心，不在决赛中，将会有紧张情绪。”
Focused or not, Cédric will have to do everything he can to lead his father to the final victory.
In any case, one thing is sure. Whatever the outcome, they are the winners in the hearts of the people from Nice whom they have represented throughout the South American continent. And that is their greatest pride.
We leave the last word to Cédric: “I hope everyone had a very pleasant time with us every Tuesday 因为我们那时候有点进入他们的家。我希望他们喜欢看我们的颜色。我给所有那些犹豫参加北京快车的人发信息。他们应该冲刺并且应该象我们一样甚至更好地代表尼斯和OGC尼斯的颜色。
The answer tonight from 8:50 pm on M6.
Photo credits: M6/Christophe Géral
