German tyre manufacturer Continental has upgraded its association with the Tour de France by becoming a main partner of the cycling showpiece for its 2019 edition.
Continental currently holds a five-year deal with Tour organiser Amaury Sport Organisation, which commenced with last year’s race.
The 2019 Tour will run from July 6-28 and Continental will become a stage winning presenter, joining LCL, E.Leclerc, Krys and Škoda as a main sponsor.
This year six World Tour teams – Bahrain-Merida, Groupama-FDJ, Movistar Team, Team Katusha-Alpecin, Team Sky and Team Sunweb – will participate on Continental’s Competition Pro LTD tyre. Additionally, drivers of the official vehicles of the Tour de France will also use the latest Continental car tyre, the PremiumContact 6, which is produced in Sarreguemines, France.
Becoming a main partner will allow Continental to gain more visibility in front of the general public. The Continental logo will be visible on the finish line arch as well as on the iconic ‘flamme rouge’. After each stage a representative from Continental will hand over the trophy to the stage winner on the podium.
Continental uses its partnership with the Tour de France to further promote the topic of road safety as part of its ‘Vision Zero’ strategy. As part of this objective Continental gives fans on the Tour de France website safety advice on how to travel to and from the event safely. The company will also continue to offer free mobile tyre checks to public vehicles parked along the race route hours before the pro riders pass by.
For the vehicles inside the race, Continental offers free tyre checks at the Grand Depart in Brussels, as well as the start and finish area of each stage. During the race, dangerous corners will be highlighted to riders, as well as drivers, by special warning signs in Continental colours for the first time.
Continental expanded its partnership with the Vuelta a España last month, while it also sponsors the sport’s third ‘Grand Tour’ event, the Giro d’Italia.