French sportswear manufacturer Le Coq Sportif has expanded its cycling presence by becoming the official partner of L’Etape du Tour from 2014.
L’Etape du Tour is a mass participation ‘cyclosportive’ event overseen by Tour de France organiser Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) in conjunction with cycling publication Velo Magazine.
It allows amateur cyclists to race over the same route as a stage of the Tour, normally over mountain roads in either the Pyrenees or French Alps on one of the race’s rest days.
Next year’s race is expected to attract between 12,000 and 13,500 participants from around 60 countries and Le Coq Sportif will support the event by unveiling a training programme and a dedicated cycling collection.
Next year’s L’Etape du Tour will take place on July 20 using stage 18 of the Tour de France – a 148km route from Pau and ending with a 13.6km climb up the 1520m high Hautacam in the Pyrenees.
In 2012, Le Coq Sportif replaced US sportwear giant Nike when it returned as an official supplier to the Tour de France and all ASO-sponsored races, including the Vuelta a Espana, Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix, and the Criterium du Dauphine.