From Friday July 26 to Sunday August 11, 2024, France hosts the Olympic Games. Even if the majority of the events will take place in Paris, and in Seine-Saint-Denis, the urban community of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, in the Yvelines department, west of Versailles, made up of 12 municipalities , will be celebrating with 17 days of Olympic and Paralympic competition.
Published on: 11/14/2023 – 4:38 p.m.
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Four Olympic sites are located in the intercommunality of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, which has 240,000 inhabitants. Sports facilities dedicated in particular to cycling and golf will operate during a good part of the Olympic fortnight. The time trial and road race routes for road cycling will cover part of the territory. The gray and rain of November should give way to the sun next summer and the public could well bring out their umbrellas near Voisins-le-Bretonneux.
The mountain bike events will be held on July 28 and 29, on Élancourt hill, the highest point in the Paris region. Left fallow for 30 years, this former landfill has undergone a major transformation since September 2022. 15,000 places, 2,700 seated and 12,300 standing will be available to admire the mountain bike acrobats and perhaps see a French man and a French woman win Olympic gold.
« The Élancourt hill project goes back well before the idea of participating in the 2024 Olympics. We had the idea of welcoming mountain bikers to the town to perpetuate a mountain biking activity. The opportunity arose to have the Olympics and we fought so that Paris’s candidacy included a mountain bike trail in the Paris suburbs, in an area that loves cycling. », testifies for RFI Laurent Mazaury, in charge of sports for the agglomeration of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
The creation of the Olympic mountain bike trail, cycle paths adapted to all levels and even walking paths will remain as the “legacy phase” of Paris 2024. The site should be accessible to all in 2025.
The national velodrome of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. © SQY Photo Library
Another heritage, the National Vélodrome, also the headquarters of the French Cycling Federation. Its construction had been mentioned with a view to the candidacy for the 2012 Olympic Games, ultimately awarded to London. The building was built in 2014, with a 250 meter long track. “ Today, this velodrome is used on a daily basis, for the initiation or training of high-level athletes. », explains Laurent Mazaury.
Many activities other than cycling are offered, such as badminton. The design of the National Velodrome was entrusted to Ralph Schürmann, one of the best track designers in the world, architect of the velodrome for the Beijing Olympics in 2008.
The site should receive 5,000 people every day, for a competition which will last six days. Right next door, the BMX track will see 4,500 people parade over two evenings. The public will be invited to take public transport organized for the occasion. The National Vélodrome will also be celebrating when the Paralympic flame passes on August 27, 2024.
« We have been working for five years to welcome these Olympics and the spectators. To get there, we have shown that we have the know-how », Indicates Laurent Mazaury. The Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines Golf Course, opened in 1991 in Guyancourt, hosts the French Golf Open every year. “ We had the Rider Cup, one of the biggest events in golf. This helped us prove that we had the capacity to host the Games », argues Laurent Mazaury.
The national golf course of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. © SQY Photo Library
The total ticket sales for all the events in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines is around 350,000 people. In particular, there will be 30,000 tickets for the National Golf with eight days of competition.
The Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines urban community has also decided to set up and run a Paris 2024 Club for the two weeks of the Olympics. Enough to watch the competitions with the family on a giant screen and eat for those who will not be able to access the Olympic sites.
Number of days of competition per discipline:
Mountain biking – July 28 and 29, 2024
Track cycling – August 5 to 11, 2024
Para-cycling on track – From August 29 to September 1, 2024
BMX – August 1 and 2, 2024
Golf – From August 1 to 4 and from August 7 to 10, 2024
Other key figures for the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines conurbation
7 games preparation centers
650 Olympic and Paralympic athletes
17 days of Olympic and Paralympic competition
350,000 spectators expected
