THE 1,000 KM EVENT
Each year in June, Pierre Lavoie is joined by many hundreds of experienced and devoted cyclists for the 1,000 KM ride – the Grand défi Pierre Lavoie’s flagship event that rallies and unites all of Quebec. As always, Pierre leads the pack, while the five cyclists on each team take turns riding behind him.
A Spectacular Cycling Marathon
Cycling 1,000 km end to end within 60 hours, from Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean to Montréal, with major stops in several of Québec’s cities along the way: that is The 1,000 KM event.
Every year, more and more cyclists want to participate in the event, and the spaces fill up quickly. A maximum of 215 teams are allowed to enroll in the 1,000 KM event and a “Coup de Coeur” contest is needed to select the new teams from among the many applicants.
The 1,000 KM is a major happening with an organization worthy of the world’s largest sports events. It mobilizes the energy and passion of more than 800 volunteers, whose efforts are orchestrated by an organizing committee, most of whose members are from Saguenay.
Two conditions to fulfill in order to participate :
- Each team must partner with at least one elementary school of its choice with the goals of encouraging its pupils to take up the Energy Cubes challenge in May and sponsoring the school in some practical way that promotes healthy life habits. All the donations a team raises in excess of its event registration fee will be forwarded to the schools its sponsors.
- Teams are also encouraged to have as one of their members a friend or acquaintance who is more sedentary and who wants to take a healthy turn for the better with a change in lifestyle.
A Social Movement that Brings Hope
The Grand défi Pierre Lavoie distributed more than 3.4 million dollars in 2019 to promote healthy life habits among young people and to support research on orphan hereditary diseases. This was done by means of scholarships and grants awarded by the Fondation du Grand défi Pierre Lavoie and through the school sponsorships of the teams in The 1,000 KM and the participants in La Boucle.
Kudos to the School Sponsorships!
In 2019, the participants in The 1,000 KM alone raised 2.6 million dollars for their school sponsorships. Each cycling team was invited to partner with one or more elementary schools of their choice and to encourage its pupils to enroll in the Energy Cubes Challenge. What is more, all the surplus donations raised by the teams enabled more than 325 elementary schools to pay for projects that promote healthy life habits.
A big thank you to The 1,000 KM teams that raised some impressive surplus donations :
1. Ciment Québec – $181,939
2. CanLak – $73,183
3. Îles-de-la-Madeleine – $68,530
4. Boscus / Ferlac / Toundra / Excellence – $64,950
5. Équipement SMS – Roxborro Excavation – $61,205
6. Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec 1 – $60,982
7. WSP – $48,272
8. Point S – $47,900
9. Alt Hotels – $44,185
10. Groupe Leclair – $42,825
Profits generated by The 1,000 KM
The profits generated by The 1,000 KM are given to the Fondation du Grand défi Pierre Lavoie to support research on orphan hereditary diseases and projects promoting healthy life habits.
Recipients of the Foundation’s Awards
The Grand défi Pierre Lavoie Foundation is proud to have awarded, in 2018, $700,000 in scholarships and grants for research projects on orphan hereditary diseases and for projects promoting healthy life habits among young people. Of the 200 projects fielded for the competition ending in April 2018, 59 were selected by the independent juries assigned to the Foundation’s four areas of interest. The following grants and scholarships were awarded.
Healthy life habits
- 30 grants of $5,000 each to elementary schools
- 5 grants of $10,000 each to local organizations for healthy eating initiatives
Research on orphan hereditary diseases
- 6 scholarships of $7,500 each to master’s students
- 3 scholarships of $10,000 each to doctoral students
- 12 grants of $25,000 each for research projects
Also in 2018, the Regroupement québécois des maladies orphelines (RQMO) received $35,000 in support from the Foundation.
A Team Achievement. A Unique Experience
The 1,000 KM offers its participants an exceptional human and sports event. It is the perfect opportunity for them to push for personal bests in many areas. The 1,000 KM also means…
- Stepping out of one’s comfort zone to discover unsuspected inner strengths.
- Experiencing an unforgettable group adventure marked by moments of intense effort and euphoria, all shared with remarkable people who champion the same values.
- Asserting one’s commitment to taking a healthy turn for the better. The major media attention given to this event is the perfect platform to showcase the values that you, your company or your organization share with Grand défi Pierre Lavoie.
