AB Café patrons Bruno Van Daele (57) and Eric Meersmans (60) rode their ninth 1000 km voor Kom Op Tegen Kanker this year. Together with their teams, they collected € 156,748.

At the first edition it was only the two of them, these days they draw 30 teams (or 76 riders) along over the line. The youngest AB Café team member is 17, the oldest 67.  They say that they’ve had no problem at all with the ratio of their years to the kilometer counter. Quite the opposite, their experience has meant that they are now perfectly prepared for the start. Their biggest secret is to fill up with a Duvel, now and then.

During the year, the participants organise various campaigns to obtain the set sum. There were hotdogs, bottles of wine, and honey sold. The freely chosen contributions via AB ticket sales also turned out a considerable result.

Bruno also tells us that everyone knows someone with cancer, and that that is often a motivation to take on this challenge. “Last year, a friend from the music sector passed away, Marianne Dekimpe. The bank account number of our team was mentioned on the death announcement. Marianne travelled with us this year, that’s why our shirts said ‘with Marianne’.”

Next year will be the 10th edition of 1000km for Kom Op Tegen Kanker, unfortunately it is no longer possible to register as it is fully booked.

View the festive arrival of our AB Café team in Mechelen.