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PBP 2007
Paris-Brest-Paris 1999
The Owner of DES PERES TRAVEL, Claus Claussen, has a long history in organizing bicycling events. Claus has organized events as small as local USCF races and much Larger events such as the Masters National Championships - 1993 (in St. Louis, MO) and the Road Race of the Olympic Festival - 1994 (also in St. Louis).
Operating a full service Travel Agency in St. Louis and understanding bicycle events, gave Claus his first opportunity to help some riders from St. Louis to attend the Paris-Brest-Paris in 1987. At that time the event began in St. Cloud. When the Start/Finish was relocated to St. Quentin-en-Yvelines, Clause became more involved. He lived in France for 15 years, where he biked and raced regularly.
His involvement and participation in numerous PBP - Qualifying events increased his understanding of long distance riding. These days, however he prefers to participate in the USCF-Races. His competitions to date include 7 U.S. National Championships and the World Championships in St. Johann, Austria, in 1996 and 1997.
Back in 1991 he had 120 riders and their families in his group trip to Paris. He made the groups arrangements including non-stop flights from 6 U.S. Gateways and he PERSONALLY supervised Bus-Transfers from the Hotel Campanile in St. Quentin and gave assistance and advice to the riders and their families. He speaks fluent French, which comes from his Living and RIDING in France for so many years. Claus credits his experience, (in the Travel Industry and in Bicycle Racing) and his love for the sport for the great success of his trips!
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In 1995 his involvement became even greater due to his success. His travel packages were offered 10 months ahead of the event in the RAAM- magazine, to all Audax representatives and all previous participants. Upon request he Participated actively in the first 200 km qualifier in regions with significant numbers of interested riders, in this case he went to Davis, CA; Springfield, MO; Sharon, WI; and Davenport, IA, which allowed him to meet the riders and answer their questions.
Finally, his groups included close to 200 riders plus families and friends, which amounted to over 400 people. For group arrivals, buses were awaiting the riders at Charles deGaulle airport for the transfer to the Hotel Campanile in St. Quentin and the Hotel Adagio. Both hotels are in the best possible location, right in the center of town and within walking distance (1 km) of the Start/Finish Line.
Claus also organized support during the entire opening time of the Loudeac checkpoint. Loudec (according to Claus) is the perfect spot for support. It is 275 miles from Paris, with 100 miles to go to the turn-around in Brest. Members of Clausí group kept track of the support luggage both day and night which earned Claus and his group praise in the local French newspaper.
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The DES PERES TRAVEL PBP GROUP included such names as:
SCOTT DICKSON (3-time winner)
PETE PENSEYRES
LON HALDEMAN
BOB FOURNEY
BOB BREEDLOVE
RICH FEDRIGON
1999
This year the total participation was about 3,700 riders, including approximately 400 Americans. This time, Des Peres Travel made the travel and/or hotel arrangements for 500 persons (riders and families), lodged in 5 hotels (280 rooms) in the area. We had 11 Air France flights (daily) from the US and Canada arriving on two different travel dates as well as one flight on a different day from Miami. Des Peres Travel chartered buses and trucks (for the bikes) for the transfers from airports to hotels. On Saturday August 21, two days before the start, we organized a half day Paris Sightseeing Tour directly from the hotels in St. Quentin - 200 people came and loved it!!! On Monday August 23, we collected 300 pieces of support-luggage for Loudeac (handled by Des Peres Travel), while RUSA had another "Bag Drop" point in Villaines - La - Juhel. In Loudeac we had stored the support luggage within the Controle point area, further we offered 70 hotel rooms (the maximum capacity of rooms in Loudeac) for a shower and a "quick nap" as well as 20 dorm-rooms in a local school, called "Des Peres Travel Hilton"... During the event, the city of Loudeac is all about the PBP as the following samples from local newspapers show:
Des Peres Travel bag drop in Loudeac
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On Saturday August 28, we organized a PBP Celebration Dinner in a nice restaurant in St. Quentin, which was attended by 300 people. Our guests of honor were Robert and Suzanne Lepertel, who have been the leading personalities in the PBP organization for 35 years.... They were honored and recognized by all Americans and we presented them with several American PBP jerseys from different states within the U.S. During the flights to/from Paris, the majority of the riders and family members were wearing the Des Peres Travel "American Team" t-shirts. A limited number of these Russel Athletic high quality products are still available for sale:
Des Peres Travel 236 Brougham Drive O'Fallon, MO 63368 Tel (636) 300-1562 Fax (636) 329-8177
Des Peres Travel ™ All Rights Reserved 2006
