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Organiser Jean-Christophe Ghys said the teams were mainly from
Belgium but some were also from Spain, France and England.
"Some will say it's about talent but talent without work takes
you nowhere. You have to train... teams can train here all year
round. We can see early in the year some teams training and it
gives us an idea of what the quality will be and we're not
disappointed this year," Ghys told Reuters.
Taking place over two weekends in one of Brussels' biggest
parks, the Bois de la Cambre, the atmosphere was festive with
loud music and alcohol. For some the competition was strategic
and more fierce with one participant seen falling into the lake
in his haste to rotate with another team member.
For others, the event was about the costume competition and
hanging out with friends, said Kathia El Yassini who was a
member of the 80s theme team and kept herself hydrated with
white wine.
Other teams dressed up as "Where's Waldo?" and pirates.
The pedal boats must continually move for four hours in a 420
metre circuit. Twenty-two teams participated on Sunday and
mid-way through the race, the fastest lap time stood at five
minutes and 21 seconds. A team of eight men called "Kefir" won
the event after completing 54 laps.
"It's my first time here, I came for fun, fun, fun!" Romain
Delpierre, a 28-year old primary school teacher with another
team, said.
"It looks like nothing when you stand here, you'd think it's
relaxing but it's actually quite intense and really makes you
hot."
(Reporting by Julia Payne and Bart Biesemans; Editing by
Christian Radnedge)
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