On 1 July, 2017, the 104th Tour de France started in Düsseldorf and ended in the French metropolis three weeks later. During the race, Christoper Froome put on the yellow jersey for the overall winner and wore it proudly all the way to Paris. The 32-year-old British rider celebrated his fourth win of Tour de France in his career.
For the third time, ŠKODA sponsored the Green Jersey for the winner of the points classification, which was won by Michael Matthews this year. All the victory trophies were created by ŠKODA Design and produced by the Czech glass manufacturer Lasvit. While the dimensions of the 60 cm tall, four-kilogram art pieces are always the same, the ŠKODA designers come up with creative new ideas for the surface every year. For this year’s Tour de France, they were inspired by the ŠKODA VISION E: Just as the electric study presented at the Shanghai Auto Show in April, the glass trophies also feature a fascinating emotive design that embodies a modern interpretation of Czech crystal art.
New ŠKODA KAROQ celebrates Tour debut
ŠKODA is one of the main sponsors of the Tour de France. The Czech brand led the way in the cycling classic for the 14th time as the official partner and vehicle partner. In total, the brand provided 250 cars as organization and accompanying vehicles. The fleet included the new ŠKODA KODIAQ SUV, the extensively upgraded ŠKODA OCTAVIA and the ŠKODA SUPERB. As in previous years, the traditional Czech brand’s flagship led the field as the ‘Red Car’. The SUPERB saloon, painted in eye-catching corrida red, has numerous equipment details and technical features, transforming the vehicle into a mobile control centre for Tour Director Christian Prudhomme. These include, among others, the panoramic roof that can be opened at the push of a button from the second row of seats.
As a special highlight, ŠKODA used three new ŠKODA KAROQs, which accompanied three teams as service vehicles, as part of the premiere stage in Düsseldorf. During the three-week deployment, the ŠKODA fleet covered around 2.8 million kilometres. Since 2004, the total mileage of the Tour de France amounts to over 30 million kilometres. A ŠKODA service team prepared the 250 vehicles perfectly for the upcoming stage every day.
Cycling commitment demonstrates ŠKODA’s special relationship with the bicycle
ŠKODA’s passion for cycling goes back to the beginnings of the company’s history, which started with the bicycle. In 1895 – 122 years ago – Václav Laurin and Václav Klement founded a bicycle manufactory in the Bohemian town of Mladá Boleslav. Ten years later, the Voiturette A became the first automobile of the young company to leave the workshop. In 1925 Laurin & Klement merged with ŠKODA. Today, cycling is a cornerstone of ŠKODA’s sponsorship strategy. In addition to sponsoring the Tour de France and the Spanish Tour (‘Vuelta’), the Czech car manufacturer supports other international cycling races, as well as numerous national and international cycling events. Bicycles and accessories are also part of ŠKODA’s extended product range.
