“We think it’s physical, but it’s mental” warns Stéphane Rotenberg, who is launching the twentieth edition of his legendary time trial race, “Beijing Express”, on Thursday January 16. This year, Africa is in the spotlight with a unique route through Tanzania, Mozambique, Lesotho and South Africa, which once again promises breathtaking landscapes.
There are ten pairs of candidates who will compete with, among others, a father and his daughter, geek friends, twin mothers, lovebirds from the North and strangers. “We are lucky to have all ages, all social backgrounds and all types of connections. It’s incredibly broad, he explains. We still had someone who was 75 years old, who won ‘Pékin Express’, two years ago, with his grandson. It’s incredible”.
“Africa is wonderful, we have only done it twice in Beijing Express, around fifteen years ago and then the year of Covid, underlines Stéphane Rotenberg. Last time, we barely set foot in Ethiopia before we had to leave. We stayed there for many weeks and had a fantastic season.” he rejoices.
No Covid for this season, but still some security measures for the teams, particularly in South Africa and Lesotho. “We had slightly armed guards from time to time, especially in the towns”. Even if according to him, it was a little exaggerated, he emphasizes that the production did not want to take any risks. “Sometimes we were a little embarrassed to have people with us at that point, but culturally, in South Africa, when you know a little bit, often the shoots are very protected”specifies the host of “Pékin Express”.
“‘Beijing Express’ means being able to provoke empathy in others to help you. They have to take you somewhere, give you food and put you up.”
Stéphane Rotenbergat franceinfo
While the production has just completed editing the third episode, Stéphane Rotenberg does not hide the fact that the bets are going well, but bluntly admits that “we make mistakes all the time. When you have a very young partner, it’s quite a challenge and strangely, it’s rare when you’re 21 and 23 to go very far, he explains. Often, when things get difficult, they break down a little.” According to him, being a good partner is “being able to tolerate, to show one’s weaknesses to others”. Another quality is also having a sense of contact, “this is one of the keys in ‘Beijing Express’. It’s not so much physical power that makes the difference, he concludes. It’s being able to break down language barriers in a few seconds, with a glance.”
