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HomeSportsPrincess Charlene brings Riviera Water Bike Challenge to Monaco
Princess Charlene brings Riviera Water Bike Challenge to Monaco
By Nancy Heslin - May 25, 2017
Princess Charlene has been training in Monaco on the Schiller S1 water bike since Christmas. Photo: Kasia Wandycz/Palais Princier
In a world premier sporting event, Monaco will host the Riviera Water Bike Challenge (RWBC) on Sunday, June 4, 2017, in support of the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation.
Leaving the port of Nice and heading east to arrive at the prestigious Monaco Yacht Club, 40 participants will make up 10 international teams pedalling Schiller S1 water bikes in a 21-kilometre relay race. There will be two sports personalities per team plus two places available for amateurs, to be selected by raffle on March 24.
The Schiller S1 water bike, developed by American Judah Schiller, reportedly on a dare, “uses an optimised propeller, proprietary gear box and Gates Carbon Drive belts”. It’s essentially a bike atop of parallel hulls, much like a catamaran, with a 2-foot (0.6 metre) wide frame. In calm waters, the average speed is 8 mph, although pros can reach more than 10 mph.
Mr Schiller attended the Monaco Yacht Show two years ago with a prototype of the human-powered watercraft that happened to catch the eye of Gareth Wittstock.
Mr Wittstock, who is also involved in this month’s South Africa-Monaco Rugby Exchange, eventually took the Schiller S1 water bike out for a spin at Larvotto Beach. He was hooked.
He came up with the idea of the first-ever water bike relay race, a fundraiser, with all of the proceeds to go to his sister’s charity, the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, established in 2012 to educate children in water safety and provide swimming lessons.
Monies raised from the Riviera Water Bike Challenge will go towards the relocation of the Monegasque Pavilion from the Expo Milano 2015 to Loumbila, Burkina Faso, where it will be reconstructed as a first aid and CPR training complex.
This project, a joint partnership with the Foundation, the Monaco Red Cross and the Burkinabe Red Cross, will include an Aquatic Rescue Center, as financed by the Princess Charlene of Monaco Foundation, to allow the training of “rescuers and lifeguards from Burkina Faso and other countries in the region”. Director of Aquatic Rescue Center of Monaco, Pierre Frolla, an ambassador to the Foundation, as well as four-time freediving world record holder, will oversee the development.
The mission will include a water-safety programme and swimming lessons available to the thousand local high school students, many of whom have never had an opportunity to be in a pool, but are often at risk of drowning during floods.
To bring attention to the Riviera Water Bike Challenge, Princess Charlene will be hosting a benefit gala, her first in fact, on Friday, March 24, at the Monaco Yacht Club.
In addition to an evening in the company of the Princely couple and prominent sports personalities, several spots to participate in the inaugural June relay will be raffled off, as well as the ten Schiller S1 bikes that will be raced on the day. There are a limited number of gala tables available in three packages: Ruby, Sapphire, and Diamond. To reserve, contact rwbc2017@gmail.com
A test day is planned for April at the Monaco Yacht Club, where people can drop by to see the Schiller S1.
Christos Fiotakis, who represented Greece in the 100m sprints and now runs Elite Fitness Monaco, with a clientele that includes Felipe Massa, raves about the S1 water bike. “My thighs exploded,” he told Monaco Life.
Voxan Motors, a part of Monaco’s acclaimed Venturi Group, has finally unveiled its high-performance electric motorcycle that it will use for its latest world speed record.
Without even putting his foot down in an F1 racing car this year, pilot Charles Leclerc is having a pretty stellar time with massive eSport success and now landing a gig as the new face of Giorgio Armani.
Paris Saint Germaine (PSG) have been handed the Ligue 1 championship for the third year in a row with a clear 12 point lead over second place Marseille, despite not having played a full season due to the coronavirus health crisis.
Training for AS Monaco football team was formally suspended last week, so the players are now on individual training schedules to ensure they are fighting fit when play resumes.
Voxan Motors, a part of Monaco’s acclaimed Venturi Group, has finally unveiled its high-performance electric motorcycle that it will use for its latest world speed record.
As part of a plan to assess the overall health and fitness of its players, AS Monaco has tested the team and staff for Covid-19, and found one person to be positive.
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Monte-Carlo once again increased its profile as a world centre for poker, with the no-limit invitational hold’em event held at the weekend. The €1 million buy-in tournament was won by Elton Tsang of China, who took away €11,111,111 ($12,188,889) at the Casino of Monte-Carlo on Sunday. Each of the 28 players contributed €111,111 as part of their stake to charity.
For the first time ever, the Big One was part of a stand alone poker festival, the 2016 One Drop Extravaganza and also went to an invitation-only format that sought to create a field free of the game’s top pros.
“I was feeling good, feeling comfortable, getting cards, my bluffs were working, and I was getting a good read on the table,” Tsang told WSOP reporters afterwards. “It was just going my way. It was going good.”
Pokernewsdaily.com commented that with only 28 entries, the top six players would take something away in what could only be called a very flat payout structure. The sixth place finisher would take down €1.5 million and fifth place would only get €250,000 more. Angling for an attention-grabbing winning number, however, it was decided that the first place prize would receive €11,111,111, in keeping with the “Big One” motif.
SOURCES: pokernewsdaily.com, cardplayer.com
Monte-Carlo once again increased its profile as a world centre for poker, with the no-limit invitational hold’em event held at the weekend. The €1 million buy-in tournament was won by Elton Tsang of China, who took away €11,111,111 ($12,188,889) at the Casino of Monte-Carlo on Sunday. Each of the 28 players contributed €111,111 as part of their stake to charity.
For the first time ever, the Big One was part of a stand alone poker festival, the 2016 One Drop Extravaganza and also went to an invitation-only format that sought to create a field free of the game’s top pros.
“I was feeling good, feeling comfortable, getting cards, my bluffs were working, and I was getting a good read on the table,” Tsang told WSOP reporters afterwards. “It was just going my way. It was going good.”
