A partnership, initiated by VMATCH, opening a new era for the Racing Club de France and its Racing 2027 project.

Find the press release below :

Paris, June 18, 2024 – The Racing Club de France (RCF), the first multi-sports club in France founded in 1882, is creating a cycling section and appointing former cycling champion, Séverine Desbouys, as its head. The champion of the Grande Boucle Féminine in 2000 is responsible for thinking about, structuring and presiding over a unique mobility project for this brand new section dedicated to cycling affiliated to the French Cycling Federation. The Racing Club de France also signs a partnership with the LEPAPE Group to develop a 360 infrastructure dedicated to cycling. Based within the La Boulie site (which already includes the golf, hockey and tennis sections), the RCF Cycling section demonstrates innovation by offering new qualitative sports leisure and tourism experiences for different audiences from all ages: members, professionals, individuals, territorial collectovotoes and businesses. This new section has its place in the vision carried by the Racing 2027 project where sport must play a central role in society.

“One in five French people regularly use a bicycle; it is a very complete mode of travel, both a means of transport and a sport. Two-wheelers embodies a sustainable lifestyle that promotes health and well-being, and helps reduce our carbon footprint. This is why it has its place today in our multi-sport club and is fully part of the development of the RCF and the Racing 2027 project : a club at the heart of the territories, a vision of sport as a factor of vitality, knowledge, through educational programs, inclusiveness, with attention to disability, technological innovations, from a sustainable perspective. The Racing Club de France is committed to promoting these values ​​within its new cycling section. The experience and passion of Séverine Desbouys are also valuable assets. This section offers members and cycling enthusiasts an exceptional opportunity to come together around their shared passion for cycling. It also embodies the renewal of the economic model that we wish to develop within the Racing Club de France, in particular with our new partner the LEPAPE group,” declares Philippe Baudillon, president of the Racing Club de France.

Séverine Desbouys, President of the cycling section of the Racing Club de France, has strong ambitions for the club: “My objective is to take into account the three infrastructure sites of the RCF (La Boulie, Saussure and Eblé), thus unifying the mobility and facilities. I aspire to create a friendly environment, bringing together families, high-level amateurs and beginners.”

A complete system around cycling and its practice

• A learning platform will be inaugurated in La Boulie, with the aim of welcoming schools and businesses from Yvelines, people with reduced mobility as well as seniors.. A bike park and a getting back into the saddle are also planned.

• The creation of a “Bicycle Workshop” will offer luggage storage and a bicycle garage, a mechanics and repair workshop, a clothing showroom, a lounge bar and two connected bicycle rooms for remote pedaling with riders from around the world. whole, train for competitions, gamify the approach with young people and contribute to the health of seniors. By 2024, the objective is to constitute a connected e-sport team, in particular through the partnership with the LEPAPE group.

• Gravel routes will be developed with a digital guide who speaks 8 languages, in collaboration with the Yvelines department, the town halls of Bougival, Jouy-en-Josas and Versailles.

• Bi-weekly bike outings will be scheduled to accompany members in the Chevreuse valley, to share friendly moments and learn with professionals.

The cycling section, an illustration of the Racing 2027 project.

The creation of this cycling section illustrates the dynamic desired in the Racing 2027 project. This aims to develop activities related to sporting practice (such as health and well-being) and aims to be fully and sustainably part of territories through collaborations that bring together all stakeholders (members, high-level athletes, private and public actors)..

Backed by a viable economic model, this new section is an important step in the Racing 2027 project which aims to ensure the sustainability of the club in the short, medium and long term by enriching the member experience and implementing new innovative services linked to sport for schools, retirement homes, companies for team buildings and the tourism sector, while optimizing the spaces of each site. This dynamic is also embodied through new partnerships, notably the one established with the LEPAPE Group, through VMATCH, the exclusive agency of the Racing Club de France in the search for partners for its Racing 2027 project and cycling expert.

The LEPAPE group will thus provide the Racing Club de France with cycling equipment (bikes and equipment necessary for the operation and implementation of the Maison du Vélo), the management and running of a temporary workshop as well as the management and running “bike school” training courses for adults and seniors. This win-win partnership allows the LEPAPE company to occasionally privatize certain club spaces, to have visibility in the club’s communication and marketing and also to develop the practice of connected cycling.

“We are proud to partner with Le Racing Club de France as part of the launch of its new cycling section so that the club can propose the best possible offer, both from a material point of view and from an educational point of view », declares Claude LE PAPE, President and Founder of the LEPAPE Group.

Severine Desbouys, an athlete with an experienced entrepreneur background.

Séverine Desbouys now occupies the presidency of the brand new cycling section within the Racing Club de France. His rich sporting background and all of his commitments are valuable assets for the RCF.

• In 2000, she won stages of the Women’s Grande Boucle and became leader of the Gas Sport Team. .

• Séverine joined the Marseille town hall where she notably participated in the Phocaean City’s candidacy for the America’s Cup. In 2004, she founded the international firm DSC, specializing in strategy consulting, with a focus on mobility, sport, education and urban planning.

• Séverine has led notable initiatives, including the mission on the Savoir Rouler à Vélo program, from 2020 to 2022, aimed at teaching bicycle safety to 6^th grade students. She was also elected vice-president representing the Economic World at the Regional Sports Conference in Île-de-France in 2021. Chairing the “Sport and territories” commission, she actively shapes the regional sports landscape. Her membership in the Women’s Forum since 2017 and her role as ambassador of the pan-African “Sport in Common” platform since 2020 demonstrate her commitment to gender equality in sport.

• In addition to her sporting involvements, Séverine is also a committed entrepreneur, notably with a coding and robotization training school. This initiative aims to support young people in the digital transition.