Alpe d'HuZes

Alpe d'HuZes is a Dutch cycling event in which one of the main mountains in the Tour de France, the Alpe d'Huez, is climbed several times in succession under the motto "Never, ever quit!". The name, Alpe d'HuZes, is a combination of the Dutch word for "six" and the name of the Alpe d'Huez mountain.

The aim of the cycling event is to raise money for research into cancer. Alpe d'HuZes adheres to a strict no-overhead policy: the event runs on volunteers and all costs are borne by the participants themselves. In other words, each euro donated will be one euro donated to the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF) / Alpe d'HuZes fund.

The mission of Alpe d'HuZes is to facilitate and inspire people to lead Happy and Healthy lives in Harmony with cancer. Its vision is to become the Dutch organisation that makes a real difference in and for the life of the cancer patient.^[1]

Facts

Participants in Alpe d'HuZes 2012

Since its first edition in 2006, Alpe d"HuZes has raised more than 70 million euros in the fight against (the consequences of) cancer.^[2]

• June 6, 2006: Alpe d'HuZes
  • six consecutive climbs
  • 66 participants of which 61 have achieved six climbs
  • Total amount collected 370,081.98 euros

• June 7, 2007: Alpe d'HuZes+1
  • seven consecutive climbs
  • 69 participants of which two individuals achieved six climbs and 67 individuals achieved seven climbs.
  • 9 relay teams that achieved all seven climbs
  • Total amount collected 1,043,155.11 euro.

• June 5, 2008: Alpe d'HuZes 2008
  • six plus (if possible) two consecutive climbs
  • 100 individual participants
  • 54 teams
  • Total amount collected 3,611,540.62 euro

• June 4, 2009: Alpe d'HuZes 2009
  • six, seven, eight or nine consecutive climbs
  • 1300 cyclists
  • Total amount collected 5,864,762.42 euro

• June 3, 2010: Alpe d'HuZes 2010
  • six climbs
  • Enrollments of 250 teams
  • Enrollments of 250 individual participants
  • Total amount collected 12,117,999.34 Euros

• June 9, 2011: Alpe d'HuZes 2011
  • six climbs
  • 4388 participants
  • Total amount collected 20,176,381.45 Euros

• 6 and 7 June 2012: Alpe d'HuZes 2012
  • six climbs
  • 8000 participants, of which 3,000 climbed on June 6 and 5000 participants climbed on June 7
  • Total amount collected 32,231,747.35 Euros

• 5 and 6 June 2013: Alpe d'HuZes 2013
  • six climbs
  • 7.800 participants
  • Total amount collected 29,096,036.87 Euros

• 4 and 5 June 2014: Alpe d'HuZes 2014
  • six climbs
  • 5350 participants
  • Total amount collected 13.524.967,85 euro

• 3 and 4 June 2015: Alpe d'HuZes 2015
  • six climbs
  • 4693 participants
  • Provisional amount collected 11.492.784 euro
  • An additional amount of 3.500.000 euro has been pledged

The KWF / Alpe d'HuZes Fund

Due to the tremendous success of Alpe d'HuZes, the Alpe d'HuZes has created its own fund out of which its own specific research is funded. First priority is long-term research, supervised by the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF), into successful rehabilitation of cancer patients. This is based on the conclusion that there is a lot of knowledge already in what factors affect getting cancer, but much less about the factors that make patients live more or less well with the disease.

Ambassador

Peter Kapitein, cancer survivor, co-founder and participant of the first Alpe d'HuZes event in 2006, is ambassador for the Alpe d'HuZes Foundation. During the 2012 Alpe d'HuZes event in France, it was officially announced that he will receive an honorary doctorate from the Free University of Amsterdam in October 2012.^[3] He will receive the honorary title for "his exceptional merits for investigating and improving the possibilities of living with cancer."

References

1. Official Alpe d'HuZes website
2. Total amount raised by Alpe d"HuZes since first edition
3. Honorary Doctorate for Peter Kaptein