VIDEO. Gaga, 14: gifted Parisian cycling life

What is cycling life? Acrobatic cycling in English and American style. Between BMX and trials, but the main setting is the city. In this way, the city’s culture is reminiscent of the skateboarding culture of the 80s.

Among the fifty or so teenagers sitting on large, colorful bicycles was Gaussou Diakite, aka Gaga, 14, one of the youngest talents in the discipline in the Ile-de-France.

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Paris is the gathering place for all racers

Gaussou Diakite lives in Saint-Bris-sous-Forêt (95 years old), he learned to “lift” (roll on his rear wheel) in an underground car park in his city. But his real pleasure is to ride around Paris. “Saint-Brice is our city stadium, and we can go to the football field. Paris is like a football player’s football field,” the teenager laughs. “It’s even better than the Parc des Princes,” adds Ruben Gedge, his cycling buddy.

Almost every week, the 4th grade student rides his bike on the RER, heading to the capital to meet a team of riders from all over Ile-de-France. They all live within a radius of about sixty kilometers and do not hesitate to travel to the capital by train on horseback.

“We have been coming for more than two years, we stay here every day. We meet in Paris, it’s easier for everyone, it’s in the center,” explains Corentin Duquesnoy, known as Coco, leader of the cycling scene in the region.

“He had an old broken bicycle.”

At the age of 25, Coco had already taken several “kids” under her wing, or rather, at her helm. Gaga very quickly showed the scope of her talent, and the eldest showed rare potential. All this passionate college student needed was financial help. “He had a crappy bike, an old broken bike. So we all chipped in and paid for a bike for him. This is a good bike. This is what he needed,” explains Corentin.

“I think that without Coco I would still be with the old bike and I even think I would have stopped because I couldn’t do anything else with it. I saw everyone riding great bikes and I was still in B’Twin,” admits Gaussou.

Its new equipment is SE Bikes, a heritage American brand for lovers of BMX and the cycling lifestyle. A new bike costs just under 1000 euros. And a used model remained difficult for Gauss to obtain.

Show on Rue Rivoli.

If Place de la République is their rallying point, Place Trocadéro is also one of their favorite places. And between them, the new, widened cycle path on Rue Rivoli has become a playground where they will never go unnoticed. It’s not uncommon to see dozens of riders performing tricks and boosts among the dazed Parisian cyclists.

Fishing, running red lights, not respecting pedestrian priority, some of them accumulate traffic violations. So much so that some cities, such as Quimper (29), have passed ordinances banning cycling on the road.

There are currently no such restrictions in Paris. In addition, Coco mentions the Rivoli bicycle police brigade, which knows the youth of the movement well. “There is even a policeman who encourages us, he even found us on Instagram. But he told us we were being too stupid.”

Often conversations with the police turn into a “dialogue of the deaf,” according to a young man from Montater (60): “I try to explain to them that we have a different style, that we have a different way of driving. that we love it and do it when there’s no one on the bike path. » The big talkative brown also reminds us of some basic rules to follow: avoid zigzagging in traffic and around pedestrians who don’t want to be passed closely.

Frequent fines

However, Corentin Duquesnoy admits that some actions do not really comply with the Rules of the Road. “Then, yes, unfortunately, there are people who behave stupidly. We’re trying to fix it as best we can, but it’s not always easy for me. I’m not one of their parents.”

Many cycling enthusiasts regularly receive fines. “Sometimes the police stop us for 22 euros, sometimes there are those who cry and their parents beat them,” Picard regrets.

“This scares me as a mother.”

An offense that also frightens Ramata Sumano, although she is very proud of her son Gaussu’s acrobatic skills. “It scares me as a mother,” admits this teacher, who is very vigilant about her eldest child’s education.

With Gaga and her friends, she speaks frankly about their behavior on the road: “When the light is on, I can’t understand, I’ll never understand, all it takes is one car to arrive and it’s all over. Especially in Paris they drive like crazy. “.

“It depends on where we are, we are not going to turn on the traffic lights on the Champs-Élysées, that’s for sure, but a little traffic, like on the streets of Saint-Brice, we know where the cars are, we look at the corners,” one of the teenagers tries her calm down

“Cycling makes me happy.”

The student’s passion flared up without his parents realizing the extent of his potential. At age 12, Gaga became interested in cycling after meeting another cycling enthusiast in her city’s park.

“At first I didn’t take it too seriously, I thought he could handle it. And since I started watching what he does, his videos, I said to myself: “Yes, he has some level,” the mother laughs.

“I hope that he continues in this, that he can act in music videos, in TV series in which he will be noticed. Because it doesn’t look like it, but it works. He worked hard to achieve this.” On the move, the most seasoned can make ends meet with paid shoots and filming. Like Tito, the muse of the shoe brand, who can also be seen in the “Buba” video.

Meanwhile, Gaussou hones his tricks after school. Ramata smiles as he talks about the teenager’s close relationship with his big silver bicycle, “an extension of his body.” Moreover, it is in her room, under the bed, that Gaga keeps her precious body.

An all-consuming passion that allowed the student to gain confidence and open up: “Two years ago I was not the same as I am today. Thanks to cycling I always smile and I am happy. I’m more outgoing.” It is not his wide smile that will deceive him.

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