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When the legend makes the kids ride

By Adam Marsal

It’s hard to name a bigger celebrity of mountain biking than Cedric Gracia. Red Bull Rampage winner, successful Downhill World Cup competitor and a man who’s never disappointed his fans with his sense of humour. Now he is helping children find their love of cycling.

Cedric is concentrating on the endurance races like you see in the pictures from the competitions in New Zealand and Argentina. But what’s on his mind is not only his biking career but also the development of the younger riders. Cedric helped design a pushbike for the children. What better time to start riding than in the spring? We asked Cedric about his recent project.

– Cedric discloses why he was mad at his father because of his first bike
– Find out what is the most important part of buying a bicycle for your child
– He recalls his first race and admits he had a ‘biking problem’ from the start

But first, check this little fella on Cedric’s pushbike.

https://vimeo.com/112441873

Where has the idea to design and build a pushbike come from?

CG: Well it was easy. I wanted to make bikes for kids, the bikes I never had hahahaha! Then I talked to my sponsors Production Privee and the engineers and we started designing one from ground up with all the little details I wanted. I wanted to make something different from the other ones with a little bit more educative features like the grips with different colour that teaches children where’s right and left!

I love to see kids having fun on them and I know dads and mums are happy to make their kids happy too. This is what I love about cycling. The project has started and now the push bikes are available. I am really proud of my boys Damien and David from Production Privee.

Can you name some special features of CG pushbikes?

CG: Cool look, stickers kit, grip colour, unique graphic and bad ass geometry!

What’s the most important if you want to teach children ride?

CG: The balance. I think it’s the secret if the kids want to switch to bigger bikes later ! That’s also why I started with a Mini CG push bike.

If parents want to buy a right push bike for their kids, what should they look for?

CG: I think the right bike for your kid has to be the one which fit perfectly to them! You have to look at the geometry, at the comfort of the saddle and at the position of the handlebars. Last but not least the kid has to absolutely love his bike! Everybody always remembers his first bike.

Cedric, how did your first bike look like?

CG: Of course I remember it. But the choice at this time wasn’t t that great and the quality was even worse. I remember to have been piss of to my dad because I was always loosing some parts. But it wasn’t his fault because I was riding hard everyday.

Can you remember your first race in your life?

CG: Yes, the memory is very clear: my mum was with me, she was seating on a bench and she was looking at me every single lap with a smile. I loved her for that (smile). Rain or sun on the course, she was there! She thought I had a big problem with biking and now I know she wasn’t wrong!

END

You probably noticed but Cedric gave us one of the greatest advice for raising children. If you want them to love something, it has to have a cool sticker! It’s as simple as that.

And what about your kids? Are you planning to start teaching them to cycle this Spring? Please share with us your experiences in the comments below.