CASE. A practice on the rise in recent years: how cycling has regained its nobility in four words

Surtout depuis la pandémie du Covid-19, le vélo s'est installé dans le quotidien des Français avec une réelle dynamique. Midi Libre – JEAN-MICHEL MART

According to the latest Vélo et Territoires barometer, cycling in France increased by 5% in 2023. With a 23% rate of practice, it has become the fourth largest activity the most practiced, according to the Union Sport & Cycle.

We walked right in. Spring marks the launch of the season of a practice that has become major in France: cycling. "The high season for cycling is between April and October, observes Jean-Charles Houeix, founder of the Cycling brand, whose head office is located in Castelnau-le-Lez, near Montpellier. We carry out, over this period, between 70% and 80% of our activity.

According to the latest barometer from the Vélo et Territoires association, which offers, each month, monitoring of the evolution of cycling, it has increased by 5% in 2023. According to the Union Sport & Cycle, the practice rate reaches 23%, making it the "fourth most practiced activity". A practice which "is doing well, particularly in large cities", insists the USC. Deciphering a craze in four words.

1. Pandemic

Since the various confinements linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the bicycle has become a preferred mobility tool. Certainly, the trend of renewal was already taking shape well before, but the health crisis gave it a major boost. "Political decision-makers have put in place incentives for the purchase of bicycles, through dedicated checks. The Covid effect was an opportunity to encourage people to prefer cycling to their car", comments Thomas Boutin, founder of the Rêve de Vélo store network, in Mauguio, in l’Hérault.

"After the pandemic, we observed a transfer of investments towards cycling", notes Jean-Charles Houeix. "The most significant investments focused on infrastructure, with the development of cycle paths and bicycle parks, including in businesses".

2. Electric

It's obvious: the emergence of the electrically assisted bicycle (VAE) has opened up new worlds for those who did not dare take the next step again. "Electric propulsion has made cycling much more accessible, says Jean-Charles Houeix. In addition, their design has made daily practice more suitable for all uses.

The communities have understood what is at stake in this development. "Today we take into account the development of electric bicycles in the design of the routes that we develop", explained a few days ago, during a meeting around cycling in companies, organized by the CCI Aveyron, in Rodez, Laurence Pages-Touzé, mayor of Sainte-Radegonde, in charge of Mobility and Transport Infrastructure in Rodez Agglomération.

According to the latest Cycle Observatory, published by the USC, the penetration rate of the VAE reached 30% in 2023. It was 5% in 2016 and by 19% in 2020, the year of the pandemic. Even though it was sold 9% less last year, with 671,585 units, the VAE market nonetheless retains a weight of stable value at 61%.

3. Company

This is the most promising market segment. "This is the biggest market potential", agrees Thomas Boutin. The stakes are high: convincing companies to provide their employees with bicycles (often electric) or helping them acquire them for their home-work journeys. ;nbsp;"Companies today are still very poorly equipped", adds the founder of Rêve de Vélo.

"In the Rodez metropolitan area, 40 % of car journeys are less than 3 km< /em>, observes Alexandre Cayrac, president of the Vélocité Rodez Aveyron association. Would it not be relevant to encourage employees to use bicycles ?". The mission is long-term. "There is a lot of aid available for businesses, but the problem is that it remains poorly deployed due to a lack of information", notes Clémence Langloys, from the Montpellier association Le Vieux Biclou, project manager for the French Federation of Bicycle Uses (FUB).