Louis-Marie Valin is a sports expert consultant. With agencies or advertisers, he works on issues of communication, sponsorship, events or entrepreneurship. He is also a member of the Sport Business Observatory and founder of the sport-vox.com website.
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DOSSIER - The Sport Business Observatory
If you've been walking around Paris in recent weeks, it's hard to miss: cycling is everywhere in the streets of the capital.
Formerly mainly reserved for athletes and other thrill seekers, the two-wheeler has become widely democratized.
General Delegate of Union Sport & Cycle, Virgile Caillet explains why: “
The bicycle market has evolved.
After having developed for sixty years around two axes, sport with the road bike and leisure with the mountain bike, we have been witnessing for 5-6 years a new social phenomenon around a third pillar which is mobility. activated
”.
Concretely, it has come out of its “
pleasure
” straitjacket to become a daily utility and enter into the routine of our compatriots.
Would the French therefore be ready to swap the sacrosanct “
metro, work, sleep
” for a “
bike, work, sleep
”?
That's what Virgile Caillet seems to think: “
We are witnessing a social phenomenon, consisting of reusing the bicycle as a means of transport, notably following a particular context.
The Yellow Vests then the social movements, by saturating and blocking the traditional means of transport have indeed forced many French people, especially in urban areas, to use the bicycle to go to work, what is called cycling.
“A dynamic then endorsed by the third blade, the Covid-19 which has definitively convinced many users to abandon public transport to ride their mount.
To top it off, these triggers also coincided with the bicycle plan implemented in 2017 and containing numerous measures: improvement of traffic conditions with the creation of numerous secure cycle lanes, obligation to mark bicycles to fight against theft. and traffic or improvement of parking conditions in the street and in buildings.
It is amusing to note that if, in France, such a plan is a first, such provisions have already been in place in the Netherlands, European cycling champion, for almost 40 years...
The Netherlands, kingdom of cycling Statista
The electric bike, big winner
Among the flagship measures of this bicycle plan, the purchase incentive figures prominently.
Introduction of the bicycle in the tax scale, strengthening of the bicycle mileage allowance (IKV) and support for the purchase of electrically assisted bicycles are all part of the program and have had real concrete effects on sales.
In 2020, 2.8 million new bicycles were sold, which represents an increase of 4% in volume compared to 2020. A timid increase at first glance, much less if we refer, either to the number sales but in value, since this represents 15% more turnover over one year and 43% over two years!
This difference is explained by the fact that it is mainly the sales of electric bicycles, whose average price is much higher, which have exploded.
800,000 bicycles produced in France in 2021 Observatoire du Cycle
For Virgile Caillet, it will not be a flash in the pan and this new deal is set to last: “
Beyond the freedom, ideological or environmental aspect, what dominates is pragmatism.
It's cheaper, you don't pay for parking or tickets, more practical, you are less dependent on external elements such as transport breakdowns or traffic jams, you control your schedule... In short, it is these objective elements that come out with, as a bonus, the fact that it's good for your health!
".
The perception of the cyclist in the professional world has evolved a lot.
From outdated it has become fashionable and many companies encourage their employees by setting up structures (bicycle garages, showers, changing rooms, etc.) allowing them to pedal without remorse.
Serial entrepreneur
Marc
Simoncini
Much more than a fashion effect, we would therefore be faced with a complete paradigm shift in our relationship to transport.
The French would therefore, for many, be ready to replace their thermal means of transport (car or scooter) with an electric bicycle, even if it means putting the means into it.
And that, the "
serial entrepreneur
" Marc Simoncini has understood.
Always at the forefront of the trend and passionate about cycling, the founder of Meetic has therefore launched into the battle of the electric bike by investing 3 million euros in Angell.
Its objective: more than a bicycle, to offer a mobility service that is mainly "
made in France ".
“, top of the range, able to convince the most reluctant city dwellers to leave their car in the garage.
Inheriting technology from the Heroin competition bike, Simoncini's first successful foray into the sector, Angell's bikes are designed for safe urban and professional travel.
Admittedly, the Cruiser model that I had the opportunity to test has a lot of tricks up its sleeve!
Indeed, despite its handlebars a bit low for my almost double meter, this courier would almost make us forget that it is ballasted by an electric motor as it is handy and light (the lightest in its category with its 18kg).
The assistance was however very quickly recalled to my good memory by allowing me to swallow all the elevations of the course as easily as a Pogaçar of the great days, almost making me regret the European standards limiting the electric assistance to 25 km /h.
But, beyond its performance, it is on safety that the Cruiser wins its bet.
Safety on the road first of all with a very well thought-out indicator system but above all safety against theft.
Unlocking by pin code, sound and light alarm at the slightest movement, email and geolocation alerts,
the start-up has gone all out so that the owner can have peace of mind when parking his courier.
Angell is so confident about its anti-theft system that the start-up guarantees the replacement within a week of a stolen bike.
A real peace of mind able to justify the investment that its acquisition represents.
If the 20th century was dominated by the car, the 21st could well be that of the electrically assisted bicycle.
With the Angell Cruiser and its competitors, the cycling revolution is now definitely underway in the streets of our cities.
It will remain to conquer the countryside by increasing the autonomy to definitively oust the four-wheeled rivals...