the essential
This Saturday, October 19, the final episode of Beijing Express, The Epic of the Maharadjas, was broadcast. At the Château de Mons in Armagnac, in Condom, in the Gers, the entire family of the Gascon duo composed of Axel and grandpa JC enjoyed these images filled with emotion.
Nobody believed it, and yet they did it. Effort after effort, the Gers duo formed by Axel and Jean-Claude managed to make their way to the final of the Beijing Express adventure game, The Epic of the Maharadjas. A final episode which started rather badly for the emblematic candidates of the All-stars season. However, they ultimately achieve victory.
DDM – Salome Dubart
And the sequence is not without emotion. As they begin the final sprint, fatigue weighs on Jean-Claude, out of breath. Axel, in a last burst of resilience, carries the two bags, and does not let go of his grandfather. “Breathe grandpa, breathe,” he breathes, also slowed down by accumulated fatigue. Step by step, they end up crossing the finish line, and with a considerable lead over the Clément and Emeline pair.
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“Beijing Express”: Gersois Axel and Jean-Claude in the final of the All Stars edition
The victory was widely applauded at the Château de Mons in Armagnac, in Condom, in the Gers. There, 80 relatives of our Gascon duo gathered to watch this final episode, together. Within the walls of the building, they celebrate the victory but also the record of Jean-Claude, 75 years old, who becomes the oldest winner in the history of the game.
“It was so different from our first visit”
“We win without money (see paper below, Editor’s note), but it doesn’t matter, because my dream was to win Beijing Express, but not the money,” Axel congratulates himself, his eyes still filled with tears. Faced with the images of the final, the young man remains amazed. “I didn’t even remember this final sprint, the finish, it was so strong, I had never experienced such a thing before.”
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Beijing Express: “I still have trouble realizing”, the Gers duo formed by Axel and grandpa JC in the final
After embracing his family, Jean-Claude looks back on these few weeks of adventure. “It was so different from our first time on Beijing Express,” he explains. “The first time, we were all novices, whereas for the All-stars, we had seen them on TV, and we knew that They were strong, so that troubles us a little.”
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Beijing Express: the adventure continues for the Gers duo Axel and Jean-Claude
In the bustling streets of New Delhi, Grandpa JC says his grandson, a journalism student, left “with a disability”. “If I was 25, it would have been faster. But Axel was so strong that I had to follow him, he pulled me, not just by the hand, but also psychologically.”
DDM – Salome Dubart
“We had an extraordinary time”
A feat that the duo achieved, for “honor”. Indeed, Axel and Jean-Claude left penniless. The tests of this final have completely stripped them, to the benefit of Emeline and Clément, who will ultimately not be able to cash in their prize pool. A first in the 19 seasons of this adventure game.
DDM – Salome Dubart
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Beijing Express 2024: Axel and Papy JC, the Gers duo, reach the semi-finals of this all-stars edition
But even without this financial advantage, Axel and Jean-Claude regret nothing. “We had extraordinary moments, which we can’t even describe, too many images are missing. But I can assure you that Axel is an incredibly strong person, he never stopped pulling me . I wish all the grandpas in the world to experience the same thing with their grandchildren.”
An episode full of twists and turns
Our Gers duo composed of Axel and Jean-Claude qualified, after several twists and turns. He opposes the two campsite leaders: Clément and Emeline.
The two pairs start on an equal footing, each with 50,000 euros in potential winnings. The final is played over several sprints, the first three of which are done to pocket the money from the other pair. It is the first duo who arrives at the head of each of these three sprints which triggers a timer, and with each second of advance, the prize pool of their opponents decreases by 10 euros.
First, the first duel is very close. The Gascon pair only manages to steal 170 euros from their opponents’ kitty. Competitors who quickly take their revenge on the second challenge, stealing 39,440 euros from Axel and grandpa JC.
A dream come true
Despite this defeat, the Gers pair did not give up their arms. But the third and final sprint is fatal for them, and they lose their entire prize pool. After a night’s sleep, the four competitors return to the streets of New Delhi.
And it is during the final sprint, when Axel and Jean-Claude manage to be the first to find a car to reach the last kilometers of the race, that Emeline makes them get out of the Indian vehicle. A low blow for Axel, who thinks he will lose the final when he sees his competitors find a car.
But the friends from the campsite, after having dislodged the Gascon pair, take a wrong turn. Their driver took the wrong route. At the same time, Axel and grandpa JC arrive at the final sprint, and win. Their kitty is empty, but the dream of the young Gersois is coming true.
