Day: 13 May 2017

On Sunday, May 14, the 4th International Monaco Rugby Kids Cup Tournament will be held at the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat stadium.

Organised by AS Monaco Rugby, and usually held over two days at Stadium Louis II, the tournament’s location this year at 2 boulevard du Général de Gaulle is exceptional due to the postponement of the French Ligue 1 match between AS Monaco-LOSC, initially planned the day before.

Created in 2014 with the support of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, the International Monaco Rugby Kids Cup Tournament welcomes 12 teams, both French and foreign, bringing together some 500 children in total ranging from the U8 to U12 categories for an exceptional day of friendliness on and off the field.

Thomas Rique, President of AS Monaco Rugby, said this 4th edition will be “exciting for our young players who will face some of the Top 14 clubs”. Acknowledging the volunteers and support from the faithful partners without whom “none of this great rugby celebration would be possible”, Mr Rique added that the day is an “essential event on AS Monaco Rugby’s agenda”.

“The tournament is a reward and an honour for our kids and the Rugby School, which is at the heart of the club, “ he explained. “In addition, we have the opportunity to welcome 500 young players to the Principality and show them how beautiful our country is. This is part of our sport’s values, and we do everything possible to make sure they leave with unforgettable memories.”

Team play begins at 9:30 am, with the awards ceremonies starting at 4 pm. At 12:45 pm, the Melrose club from Scotland, home of rugby Sevens, will play the U14 players of AS Monaco in an exhibition match. Entry for the day is free.

The dozen teams participating in the tournament comprise: 
RC Narbonne Méditerranée, Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Section Paloise, Stade Aurillacois Cantal Auvergne, RC Toulon, RC Hyères Carqueiranne La Cray, Stade Laurentin, RC La Valette Le Revest La Garde Le Pradet, Rugby Olympique de Grasse, RC Menton Webb Ellis, AS Monaco Rugby
 and Stade Niçois.

The honorary patron of this 4th edition will be announced on the day, but previous rugby names involved Yannick Jauzon, Thomas Lombard, Aubin Hueber and Yacouba Camara.

In just eight years, AS Monaco Rugby has become an institution and well-respected and ambitious club. For more see their website. (Feature photo: Dominique Diaferia)

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In November 2003, aged 31, Ben Rolfe had just moved to the Principality when the Monaco Marathon ran past his doorstep. At the time, Ben weighed 108 kilos and was “doing my best to eat and drink my way through the doctor’s warning that I would not see 40 at the current rate of progress”.

Over the last 14 years, Mr Rolfe, now 35 kilos lighter, has established himself as a serious ultra-marathoner, completing the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc and Western States 100, amongst other races.

He also contributes to the local community, bringing a team – “Pussyfootingaround”, named after his blog – to compete in No Finish Line, the 24-hour, 8 day run that takes place every November in Fontvieille. This year they completed 6010 kilometres raising €6010 for charity.

Mr Rolfe has penned his journey from “fatty to fitty and the power of the mind” in the autobiographical “Running High, Running Low, Running Long” (UK: New Generation Publishing). “Having changed my own lifestyle,” Mr Rolfe explained, “I hope my story will encourage and inspire others to get off the couch and get outside.”

Mr Rolfe’s story cannot help but inspire. In 2013, hit with life-changing news that his 11-year-old daughter, Alice, was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, he decided to undertake his toughest challenge yet: to prove to her that anything was possible. He decided to run the regional 130-kilometre Cro-Magnon, from Limone Piemonte to Cap d’Ail, aller-retour for a total of 260 kilometres, to raise money for Diabetes UK.

This year, Mr Rolfe and his eldest daughter, Emily, 16, will be running across the Sahara Desert April 7 to 17, undertaking what has been called “The Toughest Footrace in the World”, the 250 km Marathon des Sables, to raise more money for Diabetes UK.

The race is divided into six individual stages, the shortest, on the last day, being 10km while the longest stretch is between 90 to 100 kilometres. “While we trek across dunes, salt lakes, slate fields, wadhis and ergs,” Ben told Monaco Life, “we will have to carry everything we need on our back for the whole week, save for water and the Berber Tent that we will be sleeping in at night. Our packs will weigh something like 12 kilos once we have amassed the necessary food, clothing, emergency medical equipment, sleeping bag and so on for the week.”

So far, the Dad and daughter duo are putting in 70 km per week, training with packs on, and this will increase as they get closer to the event itself – “once we stop arguing over the flavours of the dehydrated foods we are going to take”.

“As you can imagine, our relationship has been at times ‘stretched’,” Ben shared, “but overall the shared experiences and hardships have forced us together in a way that it is impossible to explain. I hope that this is true of the race itself!”

Team Rolfe are trying to raise £19,500 to help Diabetes UK fund the cost of “a new and very fancy piece of technology” – a combined transmitted light and fluorescent microscope and an imaging computer, to enable their team of research scientists to study kidney cells and find new ways of treating kidney disease. Some thirty percent of Type 1 diabetics develop kidney disease and as many as forty percent of Type 2 diabetics.

The machine costs £23,500, but with Diabetes UK having already raised £3,500, £19,500 is needed. This is where Mr Rolfe and Emily come in, and they’ve set up a donation link at JustGiving.

Managing diabetes is a 24/7 job, and the consequences of getting it wrong are severe – blindness, amputations, premature death. Diabetes management currently costs the NHS £60 billion a year, and that number is growing. It’s estimated that the number of people with diabetes of all types in the UK will increase from 4 million to 5 million in eight years time, a figure equivalent in France and other Western countries.

“Diabetes UK helped us enormously with the practical, mental and emotional aspects of the condition,” Mr Rolfe said. “With their ongoing help and education we – and especially Alice – are able to take control of diabetes, and not the other way around.”

Read more about the Rolfe family’s running adventure. 

Article first published January 23, 2017.

On Friday evening, Venturi owner Gildo Pastor and drivers Maro Engel and Stéphane Sarrazin were at the Brasserie de Monaco with the rest of their ePrix team for the launch of the latest edition of Maurice Cohen’s Monaco Monsieur.

Home grown favourite Maro Engel shared some thoughts with Monaco Life about tomorrow’s race: “Hopefully you’ll go home and say that was electrifying, and not just because we are relying on electrical energy. It’s a new series, a cool series and it’s attracting a new group of people, fans interested in technology as well as racing.”

Engel said that unlike the Grand Prix, ePrix is a one-day event that runs on a tight schedule. “Everything happens quickly, and you only have one lap in qualifying so you’ve got to make it count.”

Explaining that an ePrix car has 28 kWh, and each team has a car change in the middle of the hour-long race, Engel stated that it’s all about how the driver uses that energy.

“We all have the same energy, but you have different energy management and consumption strategies. It leads to races being very close in the end.”

He added, “We don’t have power steering so the wheel’s very heavy, and there’s a lot of vibrations and bumps. You definitely feel the strain on your body after the race.”

This is the first time Engel gets to race at home in Monaco with a racecar (he’s raced with a go-kart). “It’s a fantastic feeling with so many people cheering for you. It’s a special race for all the Venturi team members, and I hope that we can celebrate tomorrow with friends and family who live close by.”

Speaking about the future, Engel stated that “The future for all of us is more and more electric cars on the roads. Monaco and especially Prince Albert really back sustainability, and Gildo Pastor with Venturi has been a pioneer in electric cars long before there was the electric hype that we see today.”

The Monaco ePrix gets underway tomorrow with qualifying in the morning and the race itself from 2:30 pm. Although the all-electric formula is in its third season, this will be the second ePrix in Monaco. The cancelation of the event in Moscow in 2016 came too late for it to be rescheduled before the Monaco Grand Prix itself. This year the Grand Prix follows on Sunday, May 28.

The Monaco race is the round five of the Formula E’s calendar. According to the organisers, the Automobile Club, the Formula E series is a genuine research laboratory for car manufacturers, while also conveying new values to the world of racing without denying its basics. Capable of exceeding 225 km/h, the cars are equipped with a new two-level front wing and reinforced suspension arms this year. The other significant change in 2017 is the increase of the amount of energy produced by the regenerative brake to 150 kW.

The championship is fought over by ten teams, made up of two drivers in each event across the globe. Many of the drivers have Formula One credentials including Nick Heidfeld, Nelson Piquet Jr and current Formula E champion Sebastien Buemi.

Switzerland’s Buemi won the opening three rounds and is top of this year’s standings on 76 points. Second is Lucas di Grassi, the Brazilian star who won the first ever Formula E race in 2014, in Beijing. In third place is Nico Prost, the son of four-time Formula One champion Alain Prost. In the team standings Renault e.dams is well out in front with 122 points.

The Formula E version takes a hard right at Sainte Devote rather than carrying on up the hill to Monte Carlo. Then the track loops back down behind the pits and rejoins the GP layout at the chicane at the exit of the tunnel. The remainder of the circuit follows the traditional route around the Swimming Pool, through Rascasse and Antony Noghes corner and back to the start/finish straight.

Ticket prices for the e-Prix are considerably less expensive than for the Grand Prix itself. Prices start from €20 euros, and a third ticket is half-price. There is no charge for children under 16. Access to the eVillage at Quai Albert Ier is also free.

Article first published May 12, 2017.

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