From two wheels to four – the cars behind the Tour de France

With over 2,000 miles to cover in a gruelling itinerary of 100-plus miles a day for three weeks, not to mention the steep climbs of the Alps and Pyrenees, there is no doubt that the Tour de France is one of the most challenging sports events in the calendar. Merely taking part requires an exceptional level of physical and mental stamina, let alone making it to the finishing line. Behind the riders, however, is a whole fleet of four-wheeled friends providing vital support throughout the race. We take a closer look.

Tour de France 2023 – the 110th edition

The 2023 Tour de France will be the 110th edition of the Tour de France. It will start in Bilbao in the Basque Country on 1 July and end with the final stage, as per tradition, at Champs-Élysées, Paris on 23 July. Among the favourites to win this year’s event are Slovenian Tadej Pogačar for UAE Team Emirates, Belgian Wout van Aert riding for Jumbo-Visma and Danish 

Jonas Vingegaard, also from the Jumbo-Wisna team. Representing Great Britain among the top riders is Adam Yates for UAE Team Emirates, who will no doubt be keen to put his name on the list of British winners that have featured the now legendary Chris Froome an incredible four times.

ŠKODA AUTO – celebrating two decades of Tour de France

This year, ŠKODA AUTO will again be supporting the Tour de France as the official main and vehicle partner. After extending their sponsorship agreement back in 2022, they return to support the 2023 event in what will be their 20th year of providing the event vehicles. Over 250 vehicles will provide mobility to the organisers and race management of the Tour de France or be used as support and service vehicles. The vehicle fleet includes an all-electric ŠKODA ENYAQ iV that the Tour Director uses as a command vehicle  – the famous ‘Red Car’ –  on 16 of the 21 stages.

A background in bicycles

While the Czech manufacturer is known today for their cars, a lesser-known fact is that ŠKODA AUTO started out as a bicycle manufacturer – one of the reasons that they have had such a key partnership with the Tour de France. As Martin Jahn, board member for sales and marketing noted last year, “Our long-standing commitment to cycling is one of the cornerstones of our sponsorship activities in elite, international and grassroots sport. In the early days of our company, founders Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Clement began by designing and manufacturing bicycles – this makes for an ideal ‘brand fit’. We are delighted to be supporting this great event again this year.”

A test-bed for sustainable tyres

In collaboration with its partners, ŠKODA AUTO is consistently working on innovative sustainability concepts. At the Tour de France, for example, the car manufacturer uses tyres from its partner Continental for the ENYAQ iV fleet, which contain additives made from recycled materials. The carcass material consists entirely of recycled PET bottles. In addition to safety, this innovation also ensures exceptional handling characteristics with minimal environmental impact. The tyres for ŠKODA models are custom developed. Working closely with partners, the car manufacturer aims to use tyres produced from sustainable materials in series production in the future.

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