We sponsor the Tour de France – the world’s biggest cycle race. Taking place annually since 1903, the event showcases our tyres in a high-performance environment at the pinnacle of cycle racing. Several participating World Tour teams in the race trust in our handmade tyres in Korbach, Germany.
We also equip the official vehicles (more than 70) with special branded EcoContact 6 and PremiumContact 6 car tyres. For the first time the UltraContact NXT will be used, which includes up to 60% of recycled materials. These tyres are developed at our head office in Hanover, Germany and engineered in Sarreguemines, France and Lousado, Portugal.
At the beginning of the cycling season the car tyres are fitted at the official garage of the Tour de France in Evry near Paris. During the race the car tyres face challenging conditions such as sudden weather changes, various road surfaces as well as steep mountain ascents and descents. The car tyres provide the official drivers the confidence to focus on delivering a safe tour while being cheered on by millions of passionate cycling fans along the route creating an incredible atmosphere.
As a main partner of the Tour de France, at the conclusion of each stage we present the winner’s medal to mark what many professional cyclists consider to be a career defining, life changing moment.
The Tour de France route is different every year. But often iconic mountains such as Alp d’Huez, Tourmalet, Mont Ventoux or Galibier feature in the race. Most certainly the cyclists pass through parts of the Alps and Pyrenees. The great novelty for this edition is the grand final taking place in Nice instead of Paris. The Tour de France does not start in France every year: the so called “Grand Depart” took place for the first time out of France in Brussels in 2019 and will take place in the beautiful Florence (Italy) starting on June 29th in 2024.
For three days, the world´s most famous bike race will pass through iconic towns and villages such as Rimini, Bologne or Turin before heading to France.
At the Tour de France Continental also supports the Young Cadets initiative with bicycle tires and cycling gear where on each stage eight local riders get to feel like a pro for a day by cycling the first and last 30 kilometres of the stage just hours before the peloton.
“We are delighted to play a major part in the biggest cycling race in the world. Being the stage winning partner of the Tour de France fits perfectly to our core value of ‘passion to win’. We are very much looking forward to contributing to the race with our wide range of high-performance tyres.”
Christian Kötz, Board member and Head of Tyre Division