Making sport accessible to as many people as possible is the joint undertaking of Decathlon France and the Sport dans la Ville association. It was by combining their values and mobilising their teams that the “On va rouler sur le Nord” project saw the light of day. Four Decathlon employees and cycling enthusiasts – three of whom are ITEEM graduates: Marie Turpin, Women’s Road Bicycle Product Engineer (Btwin Village), Maxime Fleury, JO24 Social Impact Project Manager (Decathlon Campus) and Valentin Deheule, Destocking Project Leader (Decathlon Croix), and Nicolas Catteau, Cycle team member at the AML Bike Plant (Btwin Village), have been involved in this project since its creation. Their aim is to introduce as many young people as possible to the world of cycling, promote mobility and encourage professional careers.
“We believe that cycling has enormous power. Through this project, we want to make cycling accessible to young people from underprivileged neighbourhoods and, at the same time, give them confidence in themselves and in their future” says Valentin, who is involved in the project in parallel to his missions at Decathlon.
Throughout last year, the Decathlon multi-skilled and complementary team organised several meetings with these young people: cycling lessons, regular cycling trips to practice, repair workshops, factory visits, etc. “It’s important to remember that more than 15% of young people, aged 12 to 17, have never ridden a bike before. It’s a figure that both surprises and motivates,” adds Valentin.
And this summer, their project, in collaboration with the Decathlon et Sport en Ville foundation, went even further. The team invited 15 young people from the districts of Roubaix to do a 4-day travelling camp by bike, from Roubaix to the North Sea. “We are so proud to have carried out this project in full, from securing funding, buying bikes and equipment, to seeing the results and satisfaction of young people. We cycled 100 km together whereas some young people had never even ridden a bike
5 months earlier! I was very surprised by their perseverance in the face of adversity,” says Valentin.
And it’s just the beginning! The On va rouler sur le Nord project, intended for 4 years, will continue to develop and grow thanks to these committed Décathlon employees: making other young people want to participate, involving more girls in the association, working even more with young people to prepare for the next travelling camp… This project is also an opportunity to inspire other employees or partners to fulfil ideas that can be worthwhile and have an impact. “Together, let’s inspire young people to dare to take the plunge!” concludes Valentin.