Fabian Lucas Luijckx, TU/e student and president of Thêta, was part of this mini peloton. “The decision was made very quickly, actually. We all love cycling, so we though: why not go to Paris by bike?” In total, they spent three days cycling to Paris, attended the rowing finals (where De Graaf took silver), added an extra day to visit Paris and spent another three days cycling back. “Two guys didn’t come home with us but decided on the spot to continue their journey all the way to Rome,” says Lucas Luijckx, laughing. “They’re still on their way as we speak.”

Day 1 – departure from the Thêta boathouse

On Wednesday morning, July 31, at 7 AM, the group of ten gathered at the Thêta boathouse to depart together. Omroep Brabant had caught wind of their cycling plans and was at the scene to film their departure.

Since it is a bit inconvenient to bring camping gear on a bike, there was also a van accompanying them. “So there were always nine guys cycling while one of us was driving the van,” Lucas Luijckx explains. “Unless someone needed a breather, in which case they could take a break in the van.”

That evening, at around 5:30 PM, having covered over 170 kilometers, the group reached their first campsite in the Belgian Ardennes.

Day 2 – crossing the French border

Day two of the adventure began with heavy rain. “We ate our breakfast in the campsite’s restroom building and waited there for the rain to let up a bit,” says Lucas Luijckx.

He himself was still so beat from the first day that he spent the first few hours in the van with that day’s driver. “We had already used up much of our food so we went grocery shopping together. You easily burn four to five thousand calories on a day of cycling, so we ran out of food really fast.”

After some rest in the van, a lunch break and with the sun breaking through again, Lucas Luijckx rejoined the cyclists. In total, the cyclists traveled over 160 kilometers – without any rest – before setting up their tents in the north of France.

Day 3 – the home stretch

On the third and final day, the group cycled so well that they were already nearing Paris around noon. “That’s when the idea came up to not head straight to our hostel (about forty kilometers from Paris, Ed.), but to first ride into the center of Paris,’ says Lucas Luijckx. “After all, the center is completely car-free for the duration of the Games; and so, a lot of the guys wanted to bike around the famous Arc de Triomphe roundabout.”

Lucas Luijckx himself, however, called it a day and took the van to their hostel. The group that rode into the city center arrived a good three hours later, richer for the experience.

Day 4 – the rowing finals

Day four, the day of the rowing finals. “We arrived at the rowing lanes at 9 AM, all of us wearing our “Sander de Graaf shirts” of course, which were specially designed for the Games.”

The group also caught a few other rowing finals, but the main reason they were there was the Men’s Eight final in which De Graaf was competing. “We had tickets for the C stand, but during Sander’s race, we sneaked over to the B stand. That put us a hundred meters closer to the action.” De Graaf and his team won Olympic silver. “An actual silver medal, how cool is that? After the race, we immediately walked up to Sander to congratulate him and take pictures.”

In the evening, the group visited the TeamNL house in Paris. There, all the Dutch winners of the day, including De Graaf, were honored. “It was really just a big party,” says Lucas Luijckx. They wrapped up the evening with Thêta’s association song. “At rowing competitions, it’s tradition for the president to start singing the song.” Lucas Luijckx, the current president, grabbed the chance and belted out the song as loudly as possible in the middle of the TeamNL house. “Sander joined in right away, and soon, almost every Thêta member present joined in as well – and there were many! That was truly the highlight of the evening.”

Day 5 – exploring Paris

The day after started bright and early with an interview for Omroep Brabant at the campsite where De Graaf was staying. “Everyone was hungover and no one had gotten much sleep, but the atmosphere was great.”

In addition to all the cycling, partying and rowing races, the group wanted to enjoy the city as well; so later that day, they headed into Paris for an afternoon of sightseeing.