Cycling to the World Cup I Close Up

They traversed cities, deserts, and weathered floods and flat tyres to watch their team play at the World Cup.
The French duo, Mehdi Balamissa and Gabriel Martin, cycled 7,000km from Paris to Doha, so that they could cheer for France. “The reason we embarked on this journey is very simple. We wanted to do adventures on our bicycles and collect a lot of memories for the two of us ... It was an experience to strengthen our friendship,” says 28-year-old Balamissa when asked what propelled him to embark on a three-month trip across Europe and the Middle East.
The two cyclists planned to bike all the way to Doha after riding from France to Italy to watch Les Bleus play in last year’s UEFA Nations League. They were interested in testing their abilities to travel by a sustainable mode of transport and through more arduous terrain.
The mammoth journey through 13 countries opened the cyclists' eyes to the generosity of strangers, in particular in the Middle East. “We tell people that we're going in this direction and 50km later it turns out they have groceries in their cars and they drove all the way just to catch up with us and to offer us supplies,” says Balamissa. “Maybe it will change us … We invite everyone who has prejudice about Islam to experience it by themselves,” he adds.
Now that the cyclists have made it to Doha safe and sound, they plan on enjoying the city and staying for as long as France stays in the tournament. “We’re staying until the final because France is going to win, of course,” Martin jokes. “We wouldn’t have come on our bikes otherwise.”
Credits:
A film by Gautam Singh
Cinematographer – Gautam Singh and Shahinur Alam
Film Editor – Jameel Hodzic
Colourist – Kishore Kanchan
Audio Post – Linus Bergman
EP: Tierney Bonini

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