Emotional finale at the Paris Champs-Elysees. After an arduous 3,479-kilometre race, Christopher Froome, from United Kingdom wins the 2013 Tour de France. At the traditional finishing line of the cycling classic, the ŠKODA Board Member for production, Michael Oeljeklaus, presented the winner of the white jersey with trophy and congratulates the other category winners under the Arc de Triomphe. This is the tenth time that ŠKODA has supported the Tour as the official sponsor.
The finish line at the Paris Champs-Élysées: The overall winner of the Tour des France 2013 is Christopher Froome from United Kingdom. ŠKODA Board Member for Production Michael Oeljeklaus congratulated him and presented the trophy of Bohemian crystal to White Jersey wearer, Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas from Comlubia, for being the best cyclist under the age of 25. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas is also Polka-Dot Jersey wearer as the best mountain biker. Therefore he received one more trophy. Also the wearer of Yellow Jersey, the overall winner of the Tour, Christopher Froome and the winner of the Green Jersey, Peter Sagan from Slovakia as Best Sprinter, enjoy the trophy. ŠKODA designer Peter Olah had designed the crystal sculptures which were then hand cut by Bohemian crystal artists.
ŠKODA made a total of 250 cars available to this year’s Tour organisers. The new ŠKODA Octavia Combi and ŠKODA Superb, including all new Superbs were used as escort vehicles. The new Superb did fantastically well in its first public appearance as the ‘Red Car’ for Tour Director Christian Prudhomme. The Rapid, Yeti and Citigo models were also part of this year’s ŠKODA Tour de France fleet.
Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA Board Member for Sales and Marketing made a positive summary of ŠKODA’s involvement at the Tour de France: “This year’s Tour once again featured first class cycling. We are pleased to have contributed to the success of this fantastic tour. For us, the third largest sporting event in the world once again provided a great opportunity to showcase our brand and models to a global public”, said Eichhorn. In addition to the cars, ŠKODA was clearly visible with high-impact advertising at the start and finish lines as well as on the track during each phase. The manufacturer took advantage of all communication channels, including a specially produced film, extensive activities on the Internet and in social media, reaching 12 million fans at the track and 1.7 billion viewers at home.
By sponsoring the Tour de France and other national and international cycling events, the Czech manufacturer emphasizes their close connection to the sport. “Our founding fathers, Laurin and Klement, began ŠKODA’s success story with the production of bicycles in 1895,” says Eichhorn. Alongside hockey and ŠKODA Motorsport, cycling is one of the most important cornerstones of the ŠKODA sponsorship strategy.