Pedalling from Lyon in France to Spain's Costa del Sol in order to raise cancer awareness

Grégoire Kopian has been making a promise for half of his 29 years: "One day, I will go to Spain by bicycle." The young France native has a special connection to Torremolinos. "I spent my childhood summers in this beautiful town. We used to go there every summer with my family and enjoy a wonderful holiday with my grandfather who lived in the square. There were also my cousins and my aunt who lived in Malaga," he says.

His dream came closer on 11 May, when he started the 1,700-kilometre route from Lyon to the Spanish seaside town. By the time he reaches Torremolinos, hopefully on 28 May, he will have achieved a difference in altitude of more than 13,000 metres.

This great cycling enthusiast from the land of the Tour de France now has a powerful reason to embark on his own journey in the saddle: raising funds for the fight against cancer. "This project was born in September 2024, when I found out that my brother Víctor, who has been suffering from a brain tumour for 10 years, had reached a new stage of the disease. I have also lost my grandmother Marie and, two years ago, my father Daniel to this disease. It was then that I decided to do it and show my brother that I love him and that we are all with him to support him," he said.

The way he has chosen to contribute is by getting involved with the association for research on brain tumors (ARTC). Through his cycling adventure, he aims both to raise awareness of the issue and to collect funds. He has already raised more than 10,000 euros, through donations made through the initiative's website - 'La traversee du coeur'. Thanks to this visibility, he has received financial support from companies and individuals. He has been sharing his experience through his Instagram profile: @gregoirekopian.

"To carry out this project, I obviously did a lot of physical preparation for six months, but also a lot of mental preparation, to be able to endure and complete this journey to Torremolinos, which is especially important to me, because it is the town where I spent my childhood," he said.

His mother's cousin Carolina Jiménez will be waiting for him in Torremolinos. "Grégorie is doing this, because the word cancer and tumour is, unfortunately, very present in his life - both from my cousin Carolina and from his paternal family, and now his brother is also suffering from it," she says. "They used to come to Torremolinos every summer when he was a little boy, so his happy moments, his childhood, are linked to this place."

Grégoire Kopian crossed the Pyrenees a few days ago and, at the time of writing, he getting much closer to his beloved Torremolinos.