Élancourt Hill

Élancourt Hill

Élancourt Hill in Saint-Quentin-en- Yvelines is located between Élancourt and Trappes, 7 km away from the track cycling venue Vélodrome National. Reaching 231 m, the summit is the highest point in the Greater Paris region and offers clear views of the Eiffel Tower, La Défense business district and the forests around Paris. The site on which the artificial hill stands was once home to sandstone quarries that supplied materials to entrepreneurs. After the quarries shut in the mid-1900s, it was used as a landfill site until 1975. In the 1980s, an ambitious rehabilitation programme transformed the hill into a park the general public could use for leisure purposes. All the work required to stage the Olympic mountain bike events and deliver their legacy has been designed to minimise the impact on local biodiversity.

No major infrastructure is due to be built – 95% of the Olympic routes designed by South African expert Nick Floros are based on existing trails. The variety of legacy trails means there will be something for absolutely everybody, including young children, families and seasoned athletes. In concrete terms, choosing Élancourt Hill as a venue will help strengthen and structure existing sports participation and enhance
the site’s environmental status. The project will leave a threefold (sporting, social and environmental) legacy for Saint-Quentin-en- Yvelines, which will become a cycling hotspot where people not involved in sport can access an important legacy and local biodiversity is enhanced and celebrated.

Post 2024 Legacy

The Games will provide an opportunity to promote the use of Élancourt Hill for leisure purposes. Accessible to
all, the hill will provide a safe, clean location for mountain bikers of all abilities, walkers and runners to use and families to go for a stroll within regenerated surroundings. The transformed site will also offer ideal conditions in which to hold national and international mountain bike competitions.