- The French Ministry of Sports, Youth and Community Life, the French Ministry of National Education and the Tour de France are joining forces for the fourth edition of the School Solidarity initiative.
- The campaign aims get 3,500 classes involved in the Savoir Rouler à Vélo programme, mirroring the 3,500 km awaiting the riders from 5 to 27 July.
- 100,000 schoolchildren are expected to take part between 2 June and 4 July. The Tour de France will donate €1 per student to three charities to fund bicycles for children.
LEARNING…
The "School Solidarity — A bike for every child — The Big Tour de France and Savoir Rouler à Vélo Challenge" initiative is heading back to French schools to mark World Bicycle Day. Primary schools that have scheduled a cycling action between 2 June and 4 July will be able to get into the slipstream of the campaign to implement the Savoir Rouler à Vélo (SRAV) cycling education curriculum in part or in full. In a nod to the 3,500 km awaiting the field of the Tour de France this summer, the initiative will teach good cycling practices to 3,500 classes to boost their autonomy when they go to secondary school. Schoolchildren will get their Savoir Rouler à Vélo certificate after completing three training units.
… CARING AND SHARING
The initiative also involves a charitable pledge. In line with its ambition to provide cycling education to 100,000 schoolchildren, the Tour de France will donate €1 per child, totalling €100,000, divided among three charities: Secours populaire français, QHUBEKA and the Fondation ANAÏS. These funds will allow the charities to give bicycles to underprivileged or disabled children receiving their support. €300,000 have already been given to this good cause over the last three years.
This initiative is part of the Riding into the Future, the banner under which the Tour de France advocates for soft mobility. It has introduced more than half a million children to cycling as a means of transportation since 2018. Soft mobility is a source of well-being and helps to improve air quality and reduce environmental risks.
Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France
"The Tour de France is proud to roll out this charitable initiative to promote Savoir Rouler à Vélo with the Ministry of Sports, Youth and Community Life and the Ministry of National Education. Through its pledge to three charities that support the least privileged among us, the Tour steps up its commitment to the democratisation of cycling across the board. It is a golden opportunity to encourage children to take up soft mobility with a fun and charitable educational project."
Marie Barsacq, Minister of Sports, Youth, and Community Life:
"Since 2019, the Savoir Rouler à Vélo programme has trained more than 600,000 children to learn how to ride their bikes safely and independently. The goal is to get students moving, promote sustainable modes of transport, and respond to the enthusiasm for cycling that the Tour de France sparks in our youth every summer. I am delighted that the Tour is once again joining us in promoting cycling education, alongside three associations working to provide bikes for disadvantaged or disabled children. It's perhaps on these first rides that the vocation of future Pauline Ferrand-Prévôt, Julian Alaphilippe or Alexandre Léauté will be born!"
