The Big Day
When it comes to sports in the Hauts-de-Seine, there are more than 200,000 people registered with a sporting federation, nearly 2,200 clubs and 320 top-tier athletes. Some 100,000 young people partake in free sporting activities offered during school vacations in state parks and municipal sports facilities.
But the history of cycling is also closely linked to that of the département: the first cycling competition was organized in 1868 in Saint Cloud park and the first passage of the Tour de France occurred in Ville d'Avray in 1903.
From the brilliant exploits of Jacques Anquetil wearing the ACBB jersey to the golden age of velodromes at the legendary Vélo Club in Levallois, this rich sports legacy is part of the identity and heritage of Hauts-de-Seine, as are the great names of the department's clubs: François Faber, Jacques Anquetil, Bernard Thévenet, Stephen Roche…
This history continues still on a daily basis with 22 clubs affiliated with the French Federation of Cycling, more than one thousand registered cyclists in the various disciplines (road, track, cyclo-cross, mountain biking, BMX) and 42 clubs, not to mention more than one thousand registered members of the French Federation of Bicycle Touring. Cycling is also one of the sports activities offered free of charge to the youth of Hauts-de-Seine during school vacations as part of the “Parcs en Sport” [“Sports in Parks”] program, as well as throughout the year under the “Plein Air” [“Open Air”] banner in middle schools.
All of the reasons explain why, for the sixth straight year, the General Council is partnering with this new edition of the first major stage race of the cycling season by hosting the prologue in Issy-les-Moulineaux on Sunday, 11 March.
As a precursor to this prologue, the young club members of Hauts-de-Seine will once again get the chance to discover the route on Sunday morning by participating in the outing organized by the General Council with the Department Committee for Cycling. This moderately paced, four-kilometer route will give young people and their coaches – more than 100 participants in all – the opportunity to ride in the tracks of major champions. With the support of the Department's Committee on Sports for the Disabled, the region's disabled youth registered in co-ed disabled sports teams are also invited to participate.