To be fair, the eight of them could have flown from Paris to Nice in under two hours.
But that wasn’t the aim of the game in any of their books.
Instead Kurt De Bruyn, Didier Audenaert, Johan De Veirman, Jan De Meyere, Patrick Staes, Chantal Bracke, Kathleen Vriesacker and Chris Vroman from INEOS Oxide wanted to take a slightly more scenic route and go by bike, because it fitted in with their yearly challenge that compelled them to get fit.
The 1,155km route – known in the professional cycling world as ‘the race to the sun’ – began in earnest.
It wasn’t meant to be a race, but rather a six-day endurance challenge with a strong team-building element.
But since they are all quite competitive souls, there was a constant desire to go faster, especially on the hills.
The biggest ‘hill’ facing them was the 21km climb to the top of the 6,273ft (1,912m) Mont Ventoux – the highest mountain in the Provence region of France – and one of the toughest cols to climb in France.
It is also the stuff of legend, having claimed the life of British cyclist Tom Simpson who died from heat exhaustion within half a mile of the summit on July 13, 1967.
Thierry Nordera from INEOS Lavera, which is not too far from the mountain, had joined his colleagues for the climb to the top of the col which they all reached in good spirits.
From the top, you get a breath-taking view of the whole of Provence and the lunar landscape on top of the mountain is quite spectacular.
The journey, though, was not without drama.
Some days it was so hot that the road melted, others left the riders soaked to the skin, and one particular day the fog was so dense that it made the ride from the Col de Vence not only scary but exhausting.
All were greatly relieved to eventually arrive in Nice.
To celebrate, they enjoyed a hearty meal washed down with a few glasses of wine as they rested their weary limbs in a hotel overlooking Nice.
The following day they boarded their support mini-bus, which had accompanied them on their journey from Paris to Nice, as they made their way back to Antwerp.
The group, which has always been well supported by INEOS, said a future ride might be organised to link some of INEOS’ European sites.