"I'm starting again for fun, but also to give myself new challenges": this fifty-year-old is preparing for his roller skating competitions on the Côte d'Azur

You may have seen him in Saint-Laurent-du-Var, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, or even on the Croisette in Cannes. Fabrice Gropaiz, 55, put his rollerblades back on a month ago, after putting them aside for about thirty years. "I'm getting back into them both for fun and to give myself new challenges," explains the fifty-year-old.

His goals: Amsterdam-Paris on roller skates (which he started on June 21), then a tour of France on roller skates in 2026, followed by a tour of Europe on roller skates the following year, and ending in 2028 with an Atlanta-Los Angeles, still on roller skates. Just that!

“Get back into the rhythm gradually”

Originally from Picardy, the man bought a small sailboat in Saint-Laurent-du-Var two years ago and comes to the Alpes-Maritimes every month to practice sailing. "We have a base in our sailboat in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. I come here to gradually get back into the rhythm, a few difficulties have been added since I started. Already, I have gained 30 years and 15kg, and I have one less inner ear, due to neuritis. The objective in training in the Alpes-Maritimes is to relearn how to do distance , in pleasant places that get warmer and warmer with the arrival of the good weather. This is important because when I am in the desert in the middle of a world tour, I will have to be ready for these difficult conditions," he explains.

Outstanding performance

Fabrice is not a novice in this discipline, far from it. "I participated in the first roller skating world tour, from 1996 to 1999. In 2000, I did extreme skating in Africa. I had invented prototype wheels for the descent of Kilimanjaro. My goal was to roller skate where theoretically it is not possible. After five years, I stopped out of weariness. In 2017, I participated in the Tour de France, but on an electric skateboard. The following year, I crossed the United States, still on an electric skateboard. I would have liked to do a world tour, but my daughter's joint custody did not allow me to do it," says the roller skater.

Although Fabrice has already achieved some great performances on his little wheels, the experiences that await him will be slightly different. "During my first round-the-world trip, there was no internet, no GPS, etc. Now, it's true that we have comfort and help with technological tools such as artificial intelligence. I use it in particular to create the best route for myself based on several parameters. For example: selecting less busy streets, good quality roads rather than dirt tracks, I know where there are climbs and descents, the temperature which can vary depending on the altitude, etc." , he explains.

For now, he should complete the 700km separating Amsterdam from Paris by Sunday, July 6.