An impressive performance from the Czech parathelete Jiří Ježek during the Tour de France 2013: Watched by thousands of excited spectators, the Czech completed the 33 km stretch constantly at high speed. ŠKODA supported the event as a long-term sponsor of the Czech Paralympics and official sponsor of the Tour de France.
The first individual time trials of this year’s Tour were held from Avranches towards the sea. The finish of the 11th stage of the Tour was the island’s mountain and world heritage site Mont-Saint-Michel off the coast of northern France. Ježek’s race against the clock was captured in pictures by the 15-year-old junior photographer David Vlk. David, who has the same disability as Jiří Ježek, lost his right lower leg due to illness. The cyclist’s carrier was a big motivation for David during his therapy. Thanks to ŠKODA, the young man is one step closer to achieving his goal of becoming a reportage and sports photographer at this year’s Tour de France.
“That was a great performance from Jiří Ježek, and an absolute highlight of the Tour de France,” says Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “Ježek and David Vlk have fulfilled their dreams. As a long-term partner, we are very pleased to have been able to support this exceptional event.”
Ježek proved to be on top form in his entry. With his appearance, Ježek has once again confirmed his reputation of being one of the best parathelites in the world. He is a six-time winner of the Paralympics, and also received a gold medal in the individual time trial at the 2012 Olympic games in London. He was voted ‘Parathelete of the Year’ in the Czech Republic and is so good that he is one of the only paralmpions who can compete against able-bodied cyclists without a handicap.
By supporting Ježek at the Tour-de-France, ŠKODA has once again proven its broad-commitment to cycling sponsorship. This year will mark the tenth occasion that the manufacturer has been the official sponsor and official vehicle partner of the Tour de France. With a fleet of 250 cars and a whole host of events, the car producer is really setting the pace at this 100th anniversary of the cycling classic. Year after year ŠKODA models clock up around 2.8 million kilometres during the Tour. Altogether, the total distance travelled over the past nine years has been almost 25 million kilometres. ŠKODA is also the partner for the ‘White Jersey’ – the best rider under the age of 25.
ŠKODA’s commitment to cycling underlines the special relationship that the Czech car manufacturer has with the bicycle. The company’s success story originally began at the headquarters in Mladá Boleslav with the construction of bicycles. At the end of the 19th century, in December 1895, the bicycle mechanic Václav Laurin and the bookkeeper Václav Klement established a factory there for the production of bicycles. In the first few years the two enthusiastic pioneers built bikes under the brand name of ‘Slavia’, from 1899 motorcycles, and cars since 1905. The company’s first car was the Voiturette A. In 1925 L&K merged with ŠKODA.