When the Team Rynkeby riders roll into Paris, it's as if the sun is always shining. Friends and relatives await the yellow peloton. It’s a mix of smiles and tears, pride and relief. An entire year of training, fundraising and friendship gathered into one shared moment.

For Solvejg Lauridsen, General Manager of Team Rynkeby Foundation, arriving in Paris is the heart of the entire project. This is where cycling, community and fundraising come together to form the narrative that drives her and thousands of participants year after year.

“It's the day when the whole project comes full circle,” she says.

A summer that changed everything

Solvejg Lauridsen has been part of Team Rynkeby since 2013 – starting as a participating rider, later as team captain and country manager, and today as managing director. But her journey began far from Paris.

At home with her family, where her son became interested in road cycling, and she herself began cycling with him. That summer, the daughter of their good friends was also diagnosed with leukaemia. The news hit hard, set thoughts in motion and sharpened the family's focus on many of the things they otherwise took for granted.

Shortly afterwards, she took part in a Danish cycling race. Something happened there that set the course for many years to come.

"I ended up behind a Team Rynkeby team, and they simply invited me into the group of yellow riders, let me sit on their wheels and gave me a bit of shelter from the strong wind. That camaraderie... the way they looked out for each other... and that they were doing it for children with critical illnesses. It touched my heart. And I thought: ‘I have to be a part of this’," Solvejg Lauridsen recalls.

First trip to Paris

In 2013, she cycled from Herning to Paris for the first time. As she approached the finish line, her family and friends were waiting for her, wearing T-shirts with letters that spelled out her name.

“It was so touching. There they were, my whole gang, welcoming me,” she says.

It was a great personal victory. But the feeling of community was even greater. She knew then that Team Rynkeby would come to mean a lot in her life.

From personal strength to responsibility for others

The following year, Solvejg Lauridsen was asked if she would like to be team captain. That change added a new dimension to the arrival in Paris.

"No rider is better than their team, no captain is better than their team, but as captain, you are ultimately responsible for ensuring that everyone arrives safely in Paris. And that makes the arrival even more significant. Like many other captains, I have been moved when we roll into Paris. Joy, pride and relief that we have not only brought ourselves, but the whole team to Paris."

She brings that experience with her into her role as director today. To carry the project – together with the people in it – safely all the way.

The three-legged stool

When Solvejg Lauridsen explains why arriving in Paris is so special, she uses the image of the three-legged stool as a symbol of the project.

"The stool has three legs: cycling, community and fundraising. All three must be there to keep the project balanced. In Paris, the stool is completely stable because everything culminates there. This is where it becomes full circle," she says.

At the Vélodrome, riders and service personnel stand side by side after 10 months of training, hills, headwinds, sponsorship work, events, laughter, tears and struggles. According to Solvejg, this is where everyone feels that “we did this. Together."

“It's magical. I get really excited every time – even when I just think about the finish. The energy in the peloton in Paris is one of the strongest and most moving I know.”

When joy and sorrow go hand in hand

The arrival in Paris is filled with cheers, yellow jerseys, flags and hugs. But for Solvejg Lauridsen, one of the most powerful things is witnessing how joy and sorrow go hand in hand in the yellow peloton.

"Next to you on the bike, there may be a parent who did not get their child home from the hospital. Or someone who got their child home but still lives with the long-term effects of a long illness. Those stories are with us all the way to Paris. It makes so much sense in relation to who we are cycling for," she says.

That is why the finish line is not just the end of a bike ride. It is a tribute. To the children, to the families and to hope.

A community without borders – and those who carry it forward

Team Rynkeby is now an international project with teams across several countries. Yet Solvejg experiences the same feeling regardless of where the riders come from.

"Whether you come from Sweden, Finland or Denmark, we all share the same feeling. We are part of something bigger. This also applies to the fundraising, where each country collects money for national organisations, and here the money goes to research and initiatives that help children across national borders," she says.

The arrival is not just about the riders and the service team. At the Velodrome, relatives stand in a sea of yellow signs, flags and tears. Many have taken time off work, saved up, planned and travelled far just to be there when the riders enter the Velodrome.

“It moves me deeply every time I see the many relatives standing there. They lend us their mother, father, spouse or friend for almost a year. Without them and their support, the project would not be the same.”

The sponsors are also a crucial part of the energy in Paris. Their support, cooperation and visibility throughout the season make both the trip and the fundraising possible. When the year's preliminary amount collected is displayed, their support stands out as a clear and obvious part of the community.

Personal victories – big and small

As director, Solvejg Lauridsen has one hope for all riders and service personnel:

“I hope that everyone standing in Paris, in addition to the many experiences, will feel that since 1 September they have also gained new skills. That they have achieved a personal victory – whether big or small.”

Some are cycling for the first time. Others – such as the participant who will soon reach his 18th arrival in Paris – continue to gain something new from the project.

“When we meet on our bikes, we are all in the same place. It doesn't matter what job you have or don't have, or who you are at home. In Team Rynkeby, we help each other reach our goals. It's very powerful.”

And perhaps that is precisely why the arrival in Paris continues to grab her by the heart – year after year. Because when the riders roll into the Vélodrome, the whole project comes together:

The cycling. The community. The fundraising.

Completing the circle.

This story is one of 10 gathered to mark Team Rynkeby’s 25th anniversary — stories about people who have helped shape our journey. Those who fight for others. Those who’ve received help. And those we’ve lost along the way.