Strong Partner: SKODA twelfth time sponsor of Tour de France

 

› ŠKODA: official Tour de France sponsor since 2004

› New era: new ŠKODA Superb as ‘Red Car’ leading the rider field

› Impressive fleet: 250 ŠKODA shuttle vehicles in use

› Premiere: ŠKODA first time partner to the Green Jersey in Tour de France

› International campaign on all media channels

› Communications: welovecycling.com and facebook.com/skodacycling

› Tradition: ŠKODA’s history began 120 with bicycle construction

Mladá Boleslav, 1 July 2015 – A dozen and counting: ŠKODA AUTO has been the official sponsor and official vehicle partner to the Tour de France for the twelfth time this year. One highlight is the premiere of the new ŠKODA Superb, which will serve as the ‘Red Car’, leading the rider field. The 250-vehicle ŠKODA fleet once again forms the focus of ŠKODA’s sponsorship. ŠKODA is also sponsoring the Green Jersey for the best sprinter at this year’s Tour for the first time. The Tour de France takes place from 4 to 26 July.

"Supporting the most famous bicycle race in the world is an annual highlight in our comprehensive sponsorship of cycling," said Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA Director of Sales and Marketing. "Our commitment to the Tour de France has a special highlight this year with the premiere of our new ŠKODA Superb as the ‘Red Car’. 120 years of ŠKODA – that also means 12 decades of our connection to cycling: the history of our company began in 1895 with production of bicycles by our founding fathers Laurin and Klement."

The 102nd Tour de France covers over 3360 kilometres in 21 stages this year. The starting gun will be fired on 4 July in the Dutch city of Utrecht. The riders will cross the Champs-Elysées finishing line on 26 July.

ŠKODA has been the official vehicle partner and official sponsor of the legendary Tour since 2004. This is the first year that the company will be sponsoring the Green Jersey for the best sprinter in the Tour de France. Between 2004 and 2014, ŠKODA sponsored the White Jersey for the best young rider.

Spectators’ eyes will be drawn to one thing in particular leading the rider field over the next few weeks: the so-called ‘Red Car’ – the new ŠKODA Superb. The brand’s completely redeveloped flagship sets new standards in its class, featuring emotive designs, the most room in its segment and state-of-the-art technology.

During the Tour, the red ŠKODA Superb serves as a kind of ‘mobile control centre’ for Tour-Director Christian Prudhomme. "I'm really looking forward to travelling in the new Superb. The car offers more space than the already spacious predecessor and really looks the part – a perfect Red Car," says Prudhomme.

For this one occasion, the new Superb has been painted ‘Corrida-Red’, and a huge panoramic glass roof has been installed that can be opened at the touch of a button. This means that Prudhomme can stand up when the roof is open. In addition, the Superb is fully equipped with technical equipment to perfectly fulfil its function as the ‘mobile control centre' of the tour. This includes four radio channels, over which the tour director can receive information and give orders.

The brand will also be providing a strong fleet of ŠKODA vehicles again this year, including around 250 cars – mainly ŠKODA Octavia estates and ŠKODA Superbs to serve as accompanying vehicles. The ŠKODA fleet has been the centrepiece of ŠKODA’s sponsorship activities. During these three weeks, the vehicles will cover around 2.8 million kilometres, and since 2004, the ŠKODA fleet has travelled over 30 million kilometres at the Tour de France. ŠKODA has managed this with the highest level of reliability: so far, not a single car has ever broken down.

ŠKODA’s sponsorship will also be accompanied by a broad communications campaign. ŠKODA’s ‘WeLoveCycling’ website, newly launched last year, features live reports, films and lots of information on the world of cycling. The site also gives visitors the chance to win an array of prizes including spending a day in the peloton of the Tour de France. More can also be found at www.skoda-radsport.de. ŠKODA will also be pulling out all the stops on social media at facebook.com/skoda-cycling.

Cycling is a cornerstone of ŠKODA’s sponsorship strategy. Besides the Tour de France and the Tour of Spain ('Vuelta'), the car manufacturer supports other international cycling races and numerous international and national grassroots cycling events. Bikes and accessories also form a part of ŠKODA’s extended product range.

ŠKODA’s commitment to cycling demonstrates the special relationship the brand has to the bicycle. ŠKODA’s founding fathers Václav Laurin and Václav Klement began the company’s success story 120 years ago with the construction of bicycles.

The Tour de France is the most important stage race in the world, and is considered the world's third largest sporting event after the football World Cup and the Olympic Games. Last year, around 15 million supporters turned out to cheer on the riders on the track, and 1.4 billion people watched the race on the TV and Internet.

 

START OF BICYCLE PRODUCTION: 1895 in Mladá Boleslav

FIRST BICYCLE: ‘Slavia Model No. 0’

ŠKODA FIRST SPONSORS TOUR DE FRANCE: 2004. 2015 marks twelve years of ŠKODA being a partner and official vehicle partner to the Tour

SCOPE OF ŠKODA FLEET FOR 2015:

› 250 vehicles (ŠKODA Superb and ŠKODA Octavia estate)

› 2 trucks with spare parts

PURPOSES OF THE ŠKODA VEHICLE FLEET:

› New ŠKODA Superb serves as the official vehicle for the Tour Director (Red Car)

› Publicity caravan ‘caravanne publicitaire’ ahead of each day stage

› Hospitality programme

› Escort vehicles

› Transporting officials, VIPs and athletes

DISTANCE COVERED BY EACH VEHICLE DURING THE 2015 TOUR:

› Approx. 10,000 – 12,000 km (on average)

TOTAL DISTANCE COVERED BY ENTIRE ŠKODA FLEET EACH YEAR:

› Approx. 2.8 million km

NUMBER OF ŠKODA EMPLOYEES WORKING ON LOCATION

› Approx. 60 (service technicians, hospitality staff, caravane publicitaire)

› 300 drivers

TOP-FACTS ON THE TOUR DE FRANCE:

› 102nd Tour de France (first: 1903; no races between 1915 and 1918, or between 1940 and 1946), ŠKODA has been a Tour sponsor for twelve years

› Country: 2015 stages in France, Belgium and Netherlands (1st and 2nd stages)

› Period: 4 to 26 July 2015

› Start: Opening time trial in the Dutch city of Utrecht on 4 July 2015

› Finish: Champs-Elysées, Paris on 26 July 2015

› Total distance: 3360 km

› Number of stages: 21

› Number of teams: 22

› Number of riders: 198

› Number of calories each rider burns: approx. 10,000 per race

› Amount of fluid drunk by each rider: approx. 12 litres per race

› Number of people watching on TV in 2014: 1.4 billion worldwide

› Number of spectators along the route in 2014: more than 15 million

ŠKODA SPONSORSHIP ACTIVITIES:

› Providing the vehicle fleet (around 250 vehicles)

› Providing the ‘Red Car’ leading the rider field (new Superb)

› Sponsor of the ‘Green Jersey’ (best sprinter)

› Participating on the ‘Caravanne Publicitaire‘

› Hospitality programme

› International campaign

› Strong media presence