SOLIDARITY. “He is a fan of the Tour de France and told me one day that he wanted to do it. So I told him that before that he could already go around Reunion. And as always, he took it in the first degree. “ It’s hard not to smile when Isabelle Peris tells how the idea came to her son Valentin to swallow the 208 kilometers around the island on his mountain bike saddle. The mother’s explanation is all the more funny when we know that the young man has autism, one of the most characteristic features of which is the lack of second degree. But this is the only time that Isabelle Peris will pour into the cliché, she who has always refused that labels be placed on her child and more generally on people with this disorder.
It is indeed for this purpose that she and all those close to Valentin encouraged him in his project to travel around the island on its periphery by the route des bas. A very modest circuit compared to the Grande Boucle which started last Saturday in Brest, but which will be the accomplishment of a whole team. “There will be two other cyclists who will follow him all along as well as his brother, also autistic, who will be in the car”, details Isabelle Peris who will, with her husband, also be part of the trip.
Arrival this Thursday in Grande Anse
Starting yesterday from Manapany-les-Bas, the group will pass through Sainte-Rose, Sainte-Suzanne and L’Hermitage to cross their finish line at Grande Anse this Thursday around 1pm. “We invite all the people who supported him to a shared meal”, informs Alison Giron. At the head of the Atypik Beauty association, she had met the young man several months ago during fashion shows that she organizes with people with disabilities as models. It is therefore on the platform that she discovers the young Valentin and his sporting project, immediately deciding to promote him. “It gives hope and courage to parents of autistic children”, considers the one who persists in making the differences disappear. “There is still too much ignorance and prejudice in Reunion Island on autism, while even with this disorder we are able to do like everyone else!”
A speech that goes obvious for the Peris family, used to seeing the son breaking stereotypes. “He is a very athletic person, he has a black belt in judo, has been cycling in Saint-Joseph since he was 11 years old…”, details Isabelle Peris. A taste of effort visibly in the young man’s DNA, his uncle Alain Rivière being at the head of the Handicapables association, several members of which in wheelchairs climbed the volcano a month ago. (our May 28 edition).
Preparation is therefore underway for those who dream of the flagship competition of the little queen, and who just celebrated their 26th birthday in the saddle today.
Skander Farza
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