With 20 teams on the start line, this legendary race starts this Saturday, 4 July, in Monaco and, as usual, is going to end on the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

This year Škoda Auto is going to stage a French market premiere of the Yeti, its latest model – altogether ten Yetis are going to be part of the TdF advertising convoy, an integral part of each stage of the event. In total, the Tour de France is going to see about 350 Škoda vehicles in action this year, most of which (about 250) are going to be used by the competition organisers as the TdF official vehicles.

Furthermore, Škoda is going to provide its vehicles to altogether eight professional teams - Silence-Lotto (Belgium), Saxo Bank – IT Factory (Denmark), Rabobank (Netherlands), Euskaltel-Euskadi (Spain), Cofidis (France), Franćaise des JEUX (France), Cervelo (Switzerland) and Milram (Germany), plus Shimano and Mavic, two neutral teams to provide technical support.

Commenting on the strategy of the Company's partnership with the Tour de France, Head of Corporate Communications Martin Lauer says: “Basically, there are two pillars on which Škoda builds its international corporate sponsorship communication strategies – ice-hockey and cycling, two sports that efficiently complement each other in terms of covering the respective European markets and are seen as very powerful tools employed to enhance brand awareness, the product image, as well as brand and product visibility.

Cycling offers great opportunities of presenting Škoda vehicles in the very heart of the competition where they are in close contact with racers, fans and potential buyers. Continuity in this aspect is very important, and we also appreciate the organisers' efforts to expand TdF, the tip of the cycling glacier, to other countries, such as Spain and Switzerland where the Tour is also going to appear this year“.