Café du Cycliste : The 2022 Review

The Review 2022

It’s been a big year for Café du Cycliste, inside and out. We’ll leave reporting on the politics and football to others, but we want to take a few moments to celebrate some things we’re proud to have seen and done in this non-stop year of radical design and outside adventures.

The 2023 season will undoubtedly reveal more adventures, and see more athletes joining us on the journey.

CDC GT : Warriors in Action

The idea of showcasing an all-female racing team in competition had been around for a while at Café du Cycliste. And Gravel seemed the ideal playground for conducting the experiment. So we started looking for cool and offbeat riders to deploy into the field of fun and suffering, and further discover was grave is and can be. Battling it out in sublime landscapes, experiencing moments of friendship, elation and despair would be a priority for conquering the podiums. Quite suddenly the Café du Cycliste Gravel Team (the CDC GT) was born.

At La Traka in Girona, a cycling hotspot, the team made their debut performance. Annabel Fisher won the 100km race, and Spanish native Lydia Iglesias (winner of the 200km) joined the team. Unbound, USA, the legendary and largest Gravel race in the world saw our women set off on a 200-mile (320 km) battle in dreadful weather.

An incredible experience in Kansas, not far from where Danielle, the American of the CDC GT, was born.

Then it was on to the Rift in Iceland where Maria was our local racer and also where Lauf our bike sponsor hails from. The race – in the heart of the volcanoes – is grandiose and was a very special experience. The team shone bright, and Annabel won once more despite a fall and two broken ribs shortly after the start.

Finally we traveled toItaly, for the qualifying race for the UCI World Championships and also the grand finale of the season. National colours were worn with pride, but it was in the black and white checkered kit where our team truly felt unified, in victory and defeat. What a brilliant first season.

#whatisgravel

The Caravan : Inspirational Athletes

All paths lead to glory with our Caravan project. Collaborating with elite adventurers in a variety of sports, there were many highlights to relive, all of course framed by their love of cycling for training and balance. By sharing experiences with them, we have discovered in them values of simplicity, humility and a passion for nature.

Each one took us on a journey: Anton Krupicka invited us on his gravel explorations in Colorado to the highest road in North America, Mount Blue Sky at 4348m; Alba di Silvestro and Michele Boscacci gave us a tour of their farm and cycled up the Stelvio at breakneck speed; Alexia Barrier hosted a Repair Café and we rode with her on the slopes of the Esterel; Guillaume Nery shared with us his remarkable Bikepacking trip in the Balkans (and his ability to hold breath) and Étienne Hubert gave us an extraordinary kayaking experience on a Swiss lake at an altitude of 2000m.

Eyewear : A New Vision

Summer ’22 saw another product milestone for Café du Cycliste, the launch of a range of sunglasses. The all new vision of active eyewear for on and off-road riding in all conditions, each style use photochromic lenses that react to every type of light. With an aesthetic based on classic, timeless silhouettes, rather than super technical sports designs, the lightweight frames are safe, durable and full of performance details. Take a closer look.

Trail Guides : All roads lead to Nice

We are a company of many people and many sports, with our feet in the water, heads in the mountains, and our hearts in Nice. From cycling to trail running, Café du Cycliste has the most beautiful routes on the Côte d’Azur in store for you, including the publication of our Best Rides, the reference guide to the most beautiful road and gravel bike outings from Nice.

This guide has been so successful that a second edition is already planned for 2023.

In 2022 we wanted to go even further by sharing our best trail running routes with lovers and novices of the discipline. Hidden paths to access the most beautiful perched villages on the side of Eze and La Turbie, overlooking a transparent sea crossing secret coves in St Jean Cap Ferrat and on the Cap de Nice. Refreshing itineraries through forests of oaks a few steps from the city in Mont Boron, on the heights of Nice. These online guides will be have new itineraries added in 2023. And we have concocted ‘Balconies d’Azur’ for you, a guide to the most beautiful panoramas of the Côte d’Azur accessible by mountain bike.

Ride & Create : Pedalling is good for the brain

Cycling frees creative thinking, it's a discovery made by researchers: pedalling has a very special effect on our neurones. This part of our editorial research has allowed us to meet men and women who love cycling, all of them creative in their own way, all of them exceptional. Sandra in Salzburg in Austria and Anne near Vence in France, both painters inspired by the bicycle. Izu in Dubai, Andrea a Imperia in Italy, known and recognised Chefs who total tens of thousands of kilometres on their bikes. Pierre, researcher and academician in Paris, Remi our designer in Nice, Benedict renowned photographer near London. They all have one thing in common: the time spent on their bike is synonymous with inspiration and in many cases allows them to consider unexpected solutions. Their stories and the account of these meetings can be found in La Gazette. And you, what problem did you solve and what did you create on your bike?

Responsibility : Power for the Planet

This year saw Café du Cycliste become a member of 1% for the Planet, an organisation that promotes sharing a percentage of turnover with groups dedicated to the cause of protecting the environment and promoting sustainability. As a business we now support a handful of organisation including 4MyPlanet, Cyclotrope, and Smart Shelter. We will look to contribute to others in 2023 and beyond. More of our products will be produced using recycled and natural, renewable yarns and materials, and all our delivery packaging is now bio-degradable and recyclable. Of course, the main area of difference for us is and will continue to be the love and respect for nature that outdoor pursuits bring. The journey continues towards a greener, safer planet.

Team Spirit

Gravel, more so than other cycling disciplines, prides itself on its pioneering spirit. It puts both genders on equal footing. Women compete with men over equal distances, from the same start line.

1% for the planet: Cyclotrope

Cyclotrope is first and foremost a Bike-School. It teaches children and adults through collaborative workshops to get back in the saddle, educate how to safely ride in traffic and carry out mechanical repairs, in a friendly and fun environment.

RÉMI CLERMONT

Rémi Clermont is creative director of Café du Cycliste. Here he speaks about creativity, and the vital role his own cycling plays in the process.

NICE RIDING GUIDE

There’s a very good reason why the ville of Nice used #nicecyclingparadise to promote the start of the 2020 Tour de France.

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