Little by little, Racing 92 has made its nest. In Plessis-Robinson, not far from the forest of Meudon, the Ile-de-France club which welcomes Toulouse this Sunday (4:50 pm) has an ultramodern training center which illustrates its thirst for requirement and performance. After the clubhouse of the rugby school and the conference room where the press points are organized, a crèche with a capacity of 30 cradles must emerge from the ground and welcome its first blond heads by September 2021. Everything is together and designed on site for high performance and to allow the men of manager Laurent Travers to think only of rugby.
The Ciel-et-Blanc player can spend the whole day at the center, have breakfast, lunch, train, get treatment or rehabilitate in the event of convalescence. All under the watchful eye of President Jacky Lorenzetti - originally from the center - and whose office overlooks the training lawns, one of which in synthetic material has the same characteristics as that of the Paris-La Défense Arena. The 4040 m² house not only the professional staff but also the training center, classrooms for young people and employees of Ovalto, the holding company of Lorenzetti.
The locker room
To enter, players must remove their dress shoes and leave them in the entrance hall. A concept that Lorenzetti had seen at the training center of the English football club Arsenal. The 44 compartments are aligned. Some like that of Maxime Machenaud wears a padlock, others do not. If the winger Teddy Thomas is distinguished by his concern for storage by arranging everything in boxes and hanging the drawings of his young admirers, this is less the case for others. As in the field, the science of placement is essential here to generate complicity.
Captain Henry Chavancy thus shares his block with Virimi Vakatawa. And since the beginning of this cohabitation, the two teammates have called each other "neighbors". In this place where crampons are banned and which communicates with the showers and the medical center, it is not uncommon to see Imhoff or Vakatawa playing the guitar, whose handle protrudes above the lockers, and pushing the song.
The Chavancy and Vakatawa lockers
The medical pole
From swimming pools to baths at 8 ° C or 35 ° C, an isokinetic machine, three cryotherapy cabins (-10 ° C, -60 and -110 ° C), the Racing 92 has not skimped on resources. And we wonder what arsenal could still strengthen it. In a room reserved for rest and which can easily accommodate lovers of a nap, a wooden cabin called "the dream box" allows a sensory experience of 30 minutes with sound and lights adapted to rest. A large bay window in the treatment room allows you to see the players at work in the adjoining bodybuilding area. Injured and able-bodied players can thus encourage each other.
Players exit cryotherapy booths
A large bay window in the treatment room allows you to see the players at work in the adjoining bodybuilding area. Injured and able-bodied players can thus encourage each other.
The weight room
Here, the weight benches follow one another, the weights meticulously aligned. The room is nothing revolutionary but it is ultra-complete. Upstairs, a cardio area accommodates bikes on which players can measure the intensity of their efforts live.
On a wall called “statistics”, they also have access to their detailed match performance. Away, an anti-gravity treadmill allows the injured to run without feeling the weight of their body. In the background, in a recently opened building, a tatami awaits the rugby players for workshops where one of the physical trainers concocts floor wrestling exercises, precious gestures in the rucks.
The living space
You feel at home in this large room with the air of a large living room with large and comfortable armchairs and soft lighting. A crackling chimney fire and the joysticks of the game console are just waiting to be activated.
The very cozy Racingmen lounge
Here, the manager Laurent Travers - who has his office there like all the members of his staff - performs his video briefings. At the bottom is a semi-circular bar. This is where players usually take their meals. Their photos are hung on the wall and recall the past and present of a club looking to the future.