By Armstrong vaz
Doha, Qatar: On Sunday at the Lusail Stadium an author, teacher and content producer from Argentina had the joy of their life’s. One of the three goals of their 10,500 kilometers cycling mission from South Africa to Qatar was achieved with La Albiceleste winning the FIFA World Cup final defeating France 4-2 on penalties.
For Lucas Ledezma, Leandro Blanco Pighi, and Silvio Gatti, two goals remain to be fulfilled which the Argentinian trio had set out on the cycling journey of a lifetime from Cape Town to Doha in May this year to attend the football showpiece event, the first one to be held in the Middle East and the Arab World.
With Lionel Messi and Scaloneta holding aloft the glittering trophy, one goal became a reality in Qatar with Argentina winning the prize football trophy for the third time.
“WORLD CHAMPIONS Thank you for joining us in this dream. 10,000 km, 13 countries, 6 months, 1 World Cup,” wrote Leandro on his Instagram page.
For the trio who were in Qatar, a few days before the World Cup, two goals remained to be fulfilled once they are back in Argentina, making a documentary of the trip and planting 10,500 trees in Cordoba.
“Córdoba’s native forest has suffered from deforestation for decades, and currently only 3 percent of its total area remains. We want to raise awareness for this. One of our main goals during this cycling tour through Africa and the Middle East is to work with our beautiful province of Cordoba. We want to change every mile by planting a tree,” they wrote on their Instagram page.
The trio spent 177 days on the road covering 10,000km and 15 countries between Cape Town and Doha with Matias Vercesi joining them in Egypt but again were reduced to a trio with travel agent Silvio heading to Australia, after watching a few matches due to work commitments.
The trio faced a few hiccups on the journey but on the hit a greater blockade in terms of getting match tickets for the final. But with a few hours left for the kickoff the tickets came their way thanks to the ‘angel on the road’.
“All these days and even on the final we were very anxious to find the final match day tickets, it was the most difficult part of the whole tournament, we had to put into practice everything learned during these months, from organizing tasks to call on spiritual help,” said Matias about the challenges they faced in getting the tickets for the final.
“We arrived at the stadium without the tickets and met an "angel of the road" who guided us to find that entrance, I only have words of gratitude, I am privileged to be living this historic and global moment, thanks Leo Messi for making me believe, thank you all for being part of this dream,” he added.
The idea for the epic ride came after Argentina booked their spot at Qatar 2022 and is the latest in a series of long-distance cycling trips the quartet has made to major sporting events. In 2016, the four men travelled to the Rio Olympics and took on a similar trek to the last FIFA World Cup in Russia.
“We want to get to Messi. We are Lucas, Silvio and Lea and we are giving it all for the Scaloneta. We travel by bike to Qatar, crossing Africa and the Middle East. We started in South Africa and we want to see Messi caress the trophy.
“The Odyssey has 3 goals: Get to Qatar to look for the trophy next to the Scaloneta, record a documentary, plant a tree for every KM traveled and let the whole world know about the story,” the group had written on their Instagram page during the trip.
“We started this journey in May and every day was an incredible adventure,” said Lucas, a PE teacher who took time out from the classroom to focus on the journey.
“People throughout Africa and the Middle East opened their doors to us. They helped us to learn about the culture, share food and even invited us to stay in their homes. We have had an incredible welcome from everybody – including right here in Qatar.”
Travel writer Leandro said he was keen to dispel myths and stereotypes about people in the Middle East and Arab world.
“People in the Middle East are portrayed in a certain way in the media, but in reality, they are all very welcoming,” said 31-year-old Pighi, a documentary filmmaker, author and travel writer who already has two books against his name including one about the remarkable hike from Argentina to Alaska.
“Everyone has been so generous, regardless of their means – they were all adamant to share food and water with us. I’m glad I got the chance to witness this first-hand.”
“We were here to inspire people – to tell everyone that you can do the impossible, we are proud of this journey,” said Matias, a content creator from Cordoba.
For travel agent Silvio, the energy the riders have felt since arriving in Qatar has been inspiring.
“I am very excited to be in Qatar. Our journey was long and tiring, but the welcoming atmosphere we have been surrounded by has given us so much energy and made the trip very worthwhile.”
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