Rider safety is enhanced with CEMEX’s pervious concrete solution that absorbs rain to reduce flooding.

When the city of Saint-Etienne, a major bicycle manufacturing site in France, sought to construct a new all-weather, all-terrain track at their internationally-renowned Saint-Etienne BMX Club, CEMEX met the challenge with a pervious concrete solution that eliminates the risk of standing water and enhances rider safety.

Our pervious concrete is a highly porous material that allows water (particularly rainwater) to filter through, diminishing flooding, helping to prevent skidding and reducing heat concentration by up to 4°C. This is an excellent solution for use in places like parking lots and footpaths, and now also at a BMX all-terrain track.

At this 15-meter BMX track, riders launch themselves from an elevation of eight meters at an “Olympic start,” reaching speeds of 70 km/h (almost 45 mph) in a matter of seconds.

Just after the starting line, the track sports a 50% slope down to a depression at the foot of the starting hill. CEMEX’s pervious concrete solution was a good match for this layout, since by absorbing rainwater and eliminating the risk of standing water, it thereby enhances rider safety. The company also paid special attention to the ready-mix concrete design for three additional slopes of 10%, 45%, and 50% in order to avoid potentially slippery areas, choosing a small-particulate, fiber-reinforced pervious concrete mix.

Cladding the 10-meter-wide track with pervious concrete required solid experience and proficiency in concrete installation. Accordingly, the project manager, PROSTART company, the leading French specialists in BMX starting and timing systems, agreed to receive support and training for its technical team from CEMEX, which also loaned them the necessary equipment to apply pervious concrete.

CEMEX’s pervious concrete provided a very satisfying solution for this demanding project. In particular, pervious concrete is readily adaptable to tackle substantial technical and environmental challenges, including the protection of natural soil.

CEMEX is a global building materials company that provides high quality products and reliable service to customers and communities in more than 50 countries. Celebrating its 110th anniversary, CEMEX has a rich history of improving the well-being of those it serves through innovative building solutions, efficiency advancements, and efforts to promote a sustainable future.