It was only him to throw himself into such a bet and sweep away the many obstacles that stood in his way. With the US Metro-Transports, Rémy Turgis (60) organizes this Sunday (and the two following weekends) several races on the Versailles-Satory circuit (78). With nearly 900 riders in total, it will be the first mass cycling event in post-containment France.
“I’ve been working on it for two months, the president of the Federation Michel Caillot was immediately in favor of it and encouraged me,” explains this former maintenance mechanic on the RER B train, retired for 4 years. On the other hand, the Ile-de-France committee was rather reluctant. “I didn’t really feel supported by them. At the start, Gilles Ardin, the president of the road commission even told me: don’t get in there, it’s too restrictive, wait until September, says Rémy Turgis. But I replied: we risk losing a lot of young people on the way, we must re-motivate them. I wanted to please as many runners as possible. After the period that we lived, I wanted to give a little happiness and see smiles again. For volunteers like us, our pay is smiles… ”
“Dad, he is like that: he thinks of others first, before he thinks of him, he never counts his hours to make people happy,” said his eldest son Jimmy. “He has a sense of sharing, he will always do his best to make sure everything goes well. He is a unifier who knows how to motivate parents and volunteers around him. When we left with him, we can not stop, “says Claude Delagrange, a club manager who has been working with him for 20 years.
He cultivates his gang leader side
Rémy Turgis cultivates his “band leader” side in search of conviviality. “For me, a volunteer is not only to give him a quick snack and for him to come home on Sunday evening,” he admits. I seek to create an atmosphere, generate a dynamic and desire. At work, they tell me: “ since you left, there are fewer meals and barbecues organized… ”
To set up this first big day of cycling in France, the president of the cycling section of US Metro-Transport, had to be tenacious. “When things don’t move fast enough, they can quickly get carried away,” says Claude Delagrange. He has his character but it is always to get things done. Not just for the sake of moaning. If there were no devoted enthusiasts like him, one can wonder where would cycling be in Ile-de-France… ”
“He doesn’t have his tongue in his pocket, he often says out loud what people think in a low voice,” confirms his son Jimmy.
Rémy Turgis claims this outspokenness. “They say I have a big face but I am someone who is humble and always tries to be constructive,” he specifies. I like to make things happen at the level of elected officials. My journey means that I am able to sweep the issues of cycling school to the pros. ”
For more than twenty years, he has supervised and supported the young people of the US Metro and has organized several events, in particular cyclo-cross. “I am fortunate to be able to count on the logistical support of US Metro and its president Audrey Prieto. When I see 30-year-old young men on races that I have trained kids come to thank me and kiss me, I tell myself that I didn’t take too much care of it… ”
“My parents’ universe has collapsed”
As Jimmy points out, “the life of the Turgis family (based in Linas, 91) has always revolved around the bicycle”. Rémy, a former amateur in Igny, Corbeil and Bois-d’Arcy, a cyclo-cross specialist, met his wife Valérie… on a bicycle during training in 1987. She herself comes from a family of cyclists well known in Ile-de-France, the Crocquison. “We shared the same passion, explains Rémy Turgis. But we did not see each other much at the weekend because we took our children to run in different places. “
Their three boys, Jimmy (28), Anthony (26) and Tanguy (22) have all gone professional. But after Tanguy, victim of heart problems in October 2018, Jimmy also had to stop his career in February for the same reasons. “I found it so unfair,” sighs the father. I am passionate but yes I had moments of relaxation when I thought of stopping everything. Fortunately, at the club I was able to have a helping hand from the parents, it was heart-warming. “
“My parents’ universe has collapsed,” admits Jimmy. Dad, he’s a sentimental, he’s very family oriented. Even with his sisters, he plays a protective role when he is the youngest. He lives very badly what happened to us, Tanguy and me. But time will heal the wounds. He learns to put things into perspective, he takes great care of my daughter (2 and a half years old). “
“They didn’t deserve that, it’s hard, but the most important thing is that I can always hug them,” concludes Rémy Turgis with emotion.
