OREANDA-NEWS. August 23, 2007. The international cycle marathon Paris-Brest-Paris took off in France. This year about five thousand athletes from around the world decided to put their abilities to the test. Among them is the System Administrator of Urals Gas Networks (GAZEKS gas holding company) Aleksandr Timofeev.

To be eligible for the marathon, potential participants had to pass four qualifying tests. The first stage took place as soon as the snow melted. The athletes traversed 200 km following the route Yekaterinburg - Mariinsk - Yekaterinburg. The next route took them 300 km, then 400 km. The hardest of all was the final stage, 600 km; only 20 cyclists came so far, just over a half of the original number of participants. And five of them failed to accomplish the long route.

Aleksandr Timofeev passed all the tests and clocked 35 hours 53 minutes in the final stage. Along with 10 other cyclists he will represent the Sverdlovsk Region in Paris. The marathon participants will have to go 1,200 kilometers, within the maximum time of 94 hours. Alexander chose to take the hardest route: he will have to cover 1,200 kilometers in the maximum of 80 hours.

Aleksandr learned about the cycle marathon that takes place in France every four years from his coach Aleksandr Grigoriev who dreamed of seeing his pupils among the marathon participants and trained them for this competition. But Aleksandr Grigoriev was tragically killed in the mountains. His pupils were determined to make their way to Paris at all costs and dedicate this trip to the memory of Aleksandr Grigoriev.