The UK arm of Japanese electronics firm Brother has agreed a partnership with this year’s editions of the Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour 2014 cycling events.
Under the terms of the deal, Brother UK becomes an official supplier to both the men’s Tour of Britain and the Women’s Tour. The brand will supply printers and consumables at both races in addition to technical support. The sponsorship will be launched at the 2014 Women’s Tour, which gets underway in Oundle, Northamptonshire on Wednesday.
Brother’s partnership rights range from on-course branding in the finish funnel at every stage of the two events to VIP hospitality at each race. Phil Jones, Brother UK’s managing director, said: “Cycling relies heavily on data and technology for performance analysis so these are events with which we feel the Brother UK brand has many synergies.”
The Women’s Tour takes place over five days, with stars such as world and Olympic champion Marianne Vos and British champion and current UCI World Cup leader Lizzie Armitstead among the 96 riders.
The Tour of Britain is the UK’s biggest professional cycle race and the country’s leading free-to-attend sporting event. This year it takes place from September 7-14, starting in Liverpool and finishing with a final day double stage in central London.