Vasiliki Voutzali, and fellow Philhellene ultra-endurance cyclists, intend to race from London to Athens to bolster the Return of the Parthenon Sculptures campaign. The race starts from the British Museum, where members of the British Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Marbles (BCRPM) will welcome the riders.
Voutsali told Neos Kosmos her love of the bicycle began as child and it “brings back beautiful memories and evokes joy.”
“It serves as both a means of exercise, transportation, and socialisation… it’s more than that – it is a way of life and allows me to express my values.”
In 2011, Voutzali reconnected with the bicycle she had “left behind” since her school days. What began as leisurely bike rides on Fridays with her friends soon morphed into the competitive world of cycling tourism or Brevet – a timed, long-distance road cycling event.
In 2014, Voutsali participated in her first ultra-endurance cycling race, the Transcontinental, from London to Istanbul. She completed the torturous race in 13 days, 18 hours, and 32 minutes, and came third among women.
“This experience inspired me to consider creating the first Greek ultra-endurance race to promote Greek beauty, and I began competitive cycling in the Pan-Hellenic Championship and continue to this day,” Voutzali told Neos Kosmos.
The long-distance cyclist said that from 2016, she began using her cycling to help others “follow their dreams.”
Paralympic athlete Paraskevi Kantza decided to participate in her fourth Paralympics, but not in her usual track and field, instead in cycling. Voutsali became “her eyes,” and together they represented Greece in the Paralympics in Rio.
In 2017, the athlete returned to long-distance cycling and completed the close to 4,000 kilometre test between Perth and Melbourne.
In 2022, Voutzali, along with Vasilis Kordas, Soumas, Yiannis Efthymiou, Steffen Streich decided to organise a race from London to Athens. Voutzali competes in numerous Greek endurance road races, and ranked between 5th and 7th in her class.
Voutzali wants to amplify awareness of the longstanding campaign for the Return of Parthenon Sculptures stolen from Greece in 1801 by Lord Elgin and since, housed in the British Museum.
“This journey reflects for me the path to be taken to bring back the Parthenon Marbles, leading us to dedicate our summer to the movement: BRING THEM BACK.”
Voutzali never forgot her goal to create a Greek ultra-endurance race, ‘where people from all over the world could participate, experience adventure, and learn about the Parthenon Marbles.'”
The London to Athens ultra-endurance race begins on Saturday, August 5, from the British Museum.
The cyclists’ first stop will be Mons in Belgium, on Melina Merkouri Street, then Munich, Germany, at the Coco-Mat store and third in Budapest, Hungary, where the President of the Greeks in Hungary will welcome the riders.
Then the ride through Serbia and into Greece, through the village of Belogianni, where the mayor will receive them on the central square, then Kastoria, Trikala, will end at the Acropolis Museum.
