The sequence evokes images of the Tour de France: around sixty cyclists, racing bikes and matching jerseys, hurtling along at full speed in a compact peloton. In their heads, at that moment, they might well believe it. “On certain segments, we reach speeds similar to the Tour riders,” enthuses Mehdi, stopped on the side of the road. However, we are not on a race of the great loop. At the end of August, the speed freaks – almost all amateurs – crisscross the roadway of the Longchamp ring, in the Bois de Boulogne, southwest of Paris. The “segment” in question is precisely 3.58 kilometers long. A consecrated term, which refers to the jargon used on Strava, a fitness application that allows you to record your routes.
On the interface, users are ranked by the number of kilometers they have covered and the speed at which they complete them. According to the software, 10,000 athletes have ridden the ring over the past three months, measuring their own performances – and sizing each other up. “At first, it was a desert, there wasn’t much to do there except watch your own kilometers,” Mehdi continues. “Now, in the evening, when I watch a series, I open the app at the same time, like I would with TikTok.” The 29-year-old entrepreneur spends an average of three hours a week on it. He is one of those amateur athletes for whom Strava has become a social network like any other. “It’s the best way to find people you meet and make connections,” agrees Ayoub, 25, another cyclist.
“I share more on Strava than on Instagram”
Launched in 2009 in the United States, Strava claims to now have more than 120 million users worldwide. In France, this figure is said to have reached 4 million – the country’s leading fitness software, ahead of Adidas Running and FitCoach. A growing figure, synonymous with a desire to stay in shape, but also to create connections. Friendships, dates and even networking: since the end of lockdown, fitness applications have transformed solitary disciplines into a means of meeting people – not without making users addicted in the process.
Strava has understood this well: in recent years, the company has been multiplying the features to extend the time spent on its interface. “Challenges” by month or week, diversification of rankings, the possibility of adding photos or videos… “In 2016, I was content to record my time or my heart rate. Now, I almost always put a photo when I run,” admits Magali. The 42-year-old from Nîmes has developed new reflexes: “I now share more on Strava than on Instagram.” The same observation is made by Reine, 38, leader of an Adidas Runners running club in Paris: “A lot of participants ask me to take photos of their race to publish them on the application.”
Pick-up techniques
With its photo sharing and myriad groups, it could be mistaken for Facebook – except for the platform’s “likes”, which have been replaced by “kudos” left by users under each post. “One of Strava’s promises has always had a community dimension, that of entering the largest sports collective in the world, to benefit from support and a form of social emulation, believes Bastien Soulé, a university professor of sociology at the L-VIS laboratory in Lyon. But Strava, initially known for its quality of data analysis and the possibilities offered for comparison between users, made a shift in the late 2010s intended to develop this community aspect, by taking traditional social networks as a model (and by recruiting executives from these companies).”
The application also unveiled a private messaging feature in December 2023. The new feature was initially received rather coolly by regulars: “I always saw it as a rather confidential community, a sharing between informed people,” continues Magali. But I was exasperated by this addition: I quickly saw that it risked becoming a bias for flirting.” At a time when a growing proportion of singles are turning away from dating apps (44% of French users said they were dissatisfied with them in a survey conducted by the Cluster 17 institute for The Point in November last year), flirting on Strava has become an alternative.
“Single Runners”
Across the Atlantic, running groups specifically for singles have proliferated in major cities. In other clubs, the search for true love is embodied by clothing: people in relationships are asked to dress in color. Those looking for love, in black. In France, while some groups of “single runners” proudly display themselves on Strava—or on Facebook, the old-fashioned way—the trend is less assumed. “Some try a little well-placed comment under races,” laughs Antoine, 22. “But I have the impression that few risk it in public: no one wants to come across as a jerk.” So some work in a more subtle way: “People come to get to know each other and to encourage each other. Not necessarily to flirt, believes Reine. If meetings happen, they happen naturally.”
The primary virtue of these amateur clubs remains finding running partners. The “Strava Metz” group promises its 325 members “to organize joint outings between Metz runners on occasion”. The same goes for “Strava Rennes”, which organizes free meetings every Saturday for its 2,649 members. These communities also exist between runners in the same company – the Thalès Running Club has 446 members – or alumni networks. The major business schools – HEC, EDHEC, ESCP – are particularly well represented there, as are engineering schools – Polytechnique has its club, as does Centrale.
Sports showcase
Enough to draw a fairly precise robot portrait of the user addict. “The uses of Strava are very differentiated. But those who use it in this way are mainly young people – around thirty –, urban, graduates, very regularly CSP + very socially integrated, describes Raphaël Verchère, associate professor of philosophy, author of Triathlon Philosophy (Ed. du Volcan). Their use is part of a form of asceticism and self-quantification.” For these athletes, the “showcase” side of Strava plays an intense psychological role. “A saying is repeated in the community, according to which ‘If it’s not on Strava, it didn’t happen’: if an outing, a sporting performance is not seen by my subscribers, what’s the point?” explains Raphaël Verchère. These addicted users are obviously the most likely to pay for a subscription (59.99 euros per year). “I recently discovered that my neighbor on the landing was on it. I often look at his times, admits Ayoub. He’s better than me, and it drives me crazy.”
Baudrillard’s 20th century had crowned the era of hyperreality. “With applications like Strava, we are entering the era of hypersport,” says Raphaël Verchère. “Recording performances is almost more important than the activity itself.” The virtuous circle can quickly turn into social pressure. Alix*, a runner in Saint-Malo, admits: “I stopped running for a while, and my level dropped. I’ve started again since, but without posting on Strava: I don’t want my subscribers to see it.” Rather cut yourself off from the community than disappoint it? “It all depends on how you use these applications,” says Reine. The young woman firmly believes in the benefits of these online communities that have been transposed into real life. After all, this weekend, she is going to a wedding: the two spouses met at her running club.
*The first name has been changed.
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