They had marked their season with their fair play and good humor. Clément and Emeline were back in this edition of Beijing Express entitled, The epic of the maharajas. The pair of camping leaders made it to the final broadcast this Saturday, October 19 on M6. While they had the possibility of winning 100,000 euros thanks to their success in the intermediate races, the 24-year-old Breton and the 23-year-old from Biterrois finally failed in the final sprint against the grandfather and his grandson from Gers. , Jean-Claude and Axel. Their second season of the adventure game, their eventful journey, and their unfortunate outcome… The two accomplices confided in Télé-Loisirs.
Émeline and Clément (Beijing Express, The epic of the maharajas) compare their two seasons: “The competition was much tougher”
Tele-Leisure : In what state of mind did you approach this season? All-stars ?
Emeline: After last year’s elimination, we absolutely wanted to go further than our previous season but without telling ourselves that we weren’t going to do any favors to the others. Above all, we wanted to take revenge on ourselves.
Clément : We approached this new adventure completely differently. We weren’t called the day before for the next day, so we had a little more time to prepare mentally and physically. And above all, I knew the show, which was not the case for my first Beijing Express.
How did you react when you were asked to embark on an adventure again?
E : It was incredible. In fact, it was funny because the first time, Clément didn’t really know Beijing Express. So, it was me who was really excited. And there, this time, it was Clément who was overexcited.
C : I couldn’t wait to leave. We had things to prove because during the last season, we didn’t start the way we wanted.
Did arriving at the start of the adventure this season change the situation for the other pairs?
E : Downright ! It feels like a life-size summer camp. There was of course the challenge of competition, but it was not at all the same atmosphere with the candidates. It was much easier.
C: Oui, we were no longer the targets to be shot because we didn’t arrive during the adventure. Last season was also more strategic because there was the secret choice.
Did you personally know any other pairs apart from Nathalie and Angie?
E : At the end of our season, we received lots of messages from former candidates and there were some with whom we connected straight away. I had already gone to see Rose-Marie. I spoke to Jean-Claude regularly. And Fabrice, a little too. But we were not allowed to talk about our participationit was a surprise to find them.
C : We still tried to make predictions but Emeline was better than me (laughs). For my part, I didn’t know any of the other pairs, except through social networks and what Emeline told me. Fabrice and Briac already made me laugh a lot.
Émeline and Clément (Beijing Express, The epic of the maharajas) talk about the final: “The pressure is horrible to deal with”
We saw you in difficulty during the first stages. How do you explain it?
E : It is no longer the same level as the classic season. The competition was much tougher. When we arrive, we tell ourselves that we know how to do it but everyone has already done it Beijing Expressso the level was much higher. We had to deal with this new competition and that’s what was hard.
C: It also took us a while to get into the race. Until we said to ourselves: “We were at the top of the table on our first Beijing Express and there, we find ourselves in the soft stomach even though we are competitors, that didn’t suit us.” I think the quarter-finals where Emeline held out for three hours with her arm raised and our final duel were a turning point.
Is there a notable moment from the locals that viewers didn’t see?
E : We were in an art store and a man offered us to sleep at his place. He had changed in the meantime, he had put on his little shirt. He always wanted to take a picture with us, he was very funny.
C : He was also touching because he saw us as a gift from God. He left us his contact details and told us to come back and see him.
Let’s talk about the finale. Before the very last sprint, what state of mind were you in?
E : It’s a moment suspended in time. When Stéphane starts the last sprint, I have tears in my eyes. We have too many emotions because we tell ourselves that we want to win so much. And at the same time, I was already nostalgic that the adventure was over. It was very difficult to stay focused, the pressure is horrible to deal with.
C : It has nothing to do with anything we’ve experienced before because we’re often stressed, but the moment of the final sprint, it’s a pressure that we can only have in the final of Beijing Express.
You are twice taken by drivers who take the wrong route. Do you think you were unlucky?
E : It’s easy to hide behind luck… We didn’t call it luck but rather destiny. We had the impression that whatever we did, fate was against us. Maybe we were bad too, but that’s how we try to comfort ourselves.
C: With “and” we would remake the world, we would remake the entire finale. But on the other hand, the ending is beautiful. Because we really like Jean-Claude and Axel, even if we obviously would have liked to go even further.
Émeline and Clément (Beijing Express, The epic of the maharajas) reveal if they were able to speak with the winners Jean-Claude and Axel
How did you experience this moment when you saw the canvas already torn?
E : I think we stop and Clément says to me: “Emeline, we started running, we finish running.” But I’m super sad. With the hitchhiking problems, we realized that we had fallen a long way behind, but in fact, we still believed in it.
C : I think I don’t realize it. I think a lot about Emeline, because this whole adventure starts from her. And I tell myself that I wouldn’t have succeeded in getting him to the end of the road. And then, I realized more and more and I had difficulty accepting it.
Especially since there was also the colossal sum of 100,000 euros to be won…
C : Obviously, there is additional motivation but quite frankly, we don’t think about it.
E : After returning to daily life, when I see my pay, I still say to myself: “Can you imagine, you would have had the 50,000 euros!” (laughs)
Were you able to speak with Jean-Claude and Axel?
C : We didn’t talk much in the van on the way back.
E : At one point, Axel said to his grandfather: “Grandpa, leave them, stop talking to them” because they saw that we were sad. They didn’t really know how to position themselves. But we didn’t want a coldness to settle between us.
What did this experience bring to your partner?
E : It strengthened our bonds even more. We know that we have already experienced two adventures of Beijing Express. We realize that there is very little chance that there will be a third. So we say to ourselves that we will try to create our own adventures.
C : We already had a lot of trust in each other. There, today even more, if there is one who says “Go ahead and jump“, we would do it with our eyes closed. We understand each other without speaking. This friendship was forged over several years, and now Emeline is part of my family.
