"A bicycle for all" adds a social dimension to the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift's commitment to cycling as a means of transport.
In France, one initiative allow children in need to receive bicycles every year, bringing them joy and making a tangible difference in their daily lives:
- 200 bicycles have been donated to children from families supported by the French Secours populaire and other humanitarian associations close to our stage cities. The bikes are donated on the Tour or the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift during a ride at the start of one of the stage. This year, the bikes were donated on the start of the 9th stage of the Tour in Troyes.
In parallel with this commitment to underprivileged children in France, The Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift are proud to continue their support for the Qhubeka Charity, a social mobility charity whose goal is to provide bicycles to disadvantaged schoolchildren in South Africa. Over 500,000 schoolchildren walk more than four hours a day across the country to get to school. The Qhubeka Charity has provided nearly 110,000 bicycles to these schoolchildren, which has had a significant impact on their attendance, exam scores, and greatly improved their future prospects.
The Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift are happy to have funded over 2000 bicycles directly so far through our partnership. Please join us in helping Qhubeka change lives with bicycles and make a donation at the dedicated donation page HERE.
To understand more about the impact of our commitment to the Qhubeka Charity, please take a few moments to enjoy this short film:
“ECOLE SOLIDAIRE” – A BICYCLE FOR ALL
Since 2022, the Ministry of National Education and Youth, the Ministry of Sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, and Amaury Sport Organisation have partnered for an initiative aimed at promoting cycling skills in schools. While the Tour de France peloton will cover approximately 3,500 km between Saturday, June 29, and Sunday, July 21, “École Solidaire” – A Bicycle for all operation aims to involve 3,500 classes, representing 100,000 students.
In 2024, classes of children aged 6 to 11 took part in the third edition of this operation by organizing their cycling activity based on the program "Ecole Solidaire” – A Bicycle for all, which promotes the "Savoir Rouler à Vélo". This learning program, aimed at children aged 6 to 11, has been led by the Ministry of Sports since 2018. It enables students to acquire the necessary skills before entering middle school to ride a bike independently and safely.
For each trained student, the Tour de France donates 1€ to an association. This year, the chosen associations are Secours populaire Français, Qhubeka, and the ANAIS Foundation.
During the 2023 edition, 106,473 children participated in this challenge, allowing more than 600 bikes and helmets to be given to those who are less fortunate, both in France and abroad.