“Get in line, respecting the safety distances, until you reach the blue zone…” advises Cédric Le Naour, sports instructor specializing in bicycle mobility, to around forty middle school students. “Be careful to stick to the right as much as possible on bends because on the roads cars only see you at the last moment…” Israa, Kendzo, Nour… aged 11 to 12, weave on bicycles between the blue, yellow and white zones marked under the basketball hoops in the playground. Protected by helmets and vests, the teenagers, who literally drink in the words of the educator, seem to perform a graceful cycling ballet around the poles installed in the 50 square meters of the sports field.
10 hours of training for a “bicycle license”
“Beyond their spectacular aspect, the Olympic and Paralympic Games must contribute to changing the daily lives of residents and even more so that of young people by encouraging them to do more sport” explains Romain Lachens, Director of Engagement for Paris 2024. To do this, this structure decided, with the French Cycling Federation (FFC), to recycle 406 bicycles to make them available to 24 colleges in Seine-Saint-Denis in order to train students in the Savoir roule à vélo learning program.
Launched in March 2024, this training allows middle school students to acquire the skills of real autonomy by bicycle, in the hope that in the longer term they will encourage their families to abandon the car for their “little queens” during local travel. “Nearly 2,000 students from the area are being trained this year by 4 FFC educators and fifteen establishments will take part in a celebration on September 8 during the JOP para-marathon planned at Georges-Valbon Park in La Courneuve.” says Stéphane Troussel, the president of the Departmental Council.
This system, which is integrated into the hours of Physical and Sports Education (PES), is spread over 10 hours spread over 3 learning levels: handling the bike, mastering the rules of “know how to ride” and cycling in urban areas for ” to validate “ skills. The students of Robert-Doisneau college, who acquired the essential notions of safety, applied them the next day with their trainer “in real situation” by pedaling around and inside a public park in Clichy-sous-Bois.
The students simulated driving in an urban environment in the playground, under the encouragement of their PE teacher and a delegation including Marie Françoise Potereau, vice-president of the FFC and administrator of the French National Olympic and Sports Committee and Thierry Bedos Deputy National Technical Director of the FFC.
A bike race on the Valbon Park circular route
“Before, I rode my bike a bit haphazardly without understanding the meaning of all the signs” confides Nahil, 12 years old, proud to have avoided any pile-up with his friends. “The trainer advised us to put both feet on the ground in front of a stop sign, checking that no one is coming from either the right or the left, and to always respect the equivalent of a ghost bike between us and the cars…”. So many safety rules which will allow them, among other things, to take advantage of the 280 km of cycle paths in the area built by the community along departmental roads.
Nahil, Nour, Agna… and all their classmates will receive a diploma from the Ministry of National Education in the coming days, recognizing the “Know how to ride a bike”. They will participate on September 8 with 150 other middle school students from the area in a 3 km cycling relay race at Valbon Park. “During the para-marathon, THE 6th and 5th grade students will celebrate the last day of the Paralympic Games in their own way » explains José Gouère, president of the Île-de-France committee of the FFC. This federation and other local cycling clubs will also organize events for the general public around the race.
According to Paris 2024, this sports programme should be maintained after the Olympic and Paralympic Games in other colleges in Seine-Saint-Denis. “A good way to encourage families to develop active mobility » adds Corentin Gallois, project manager for the Departmental Directorate of Education and Youth. And in doing so, to promote to the population the community’s cycling strategy, which works to ensure that 100% of the 345 km of departmental roads are cycle-friendly by 2024.
PE teachers at Robert-Doisneau College will be able to use around twenty second-hand bicycles within the establishment.
