Energy company Santos has agreed a deal to continue as the title sponsor of Australian UCI WorldTour cycling race, the Tour Down Under.
Under the extended agreement, Santos will title sponsor the event, which runs annually in and around Adelaide, for its 2018 and 2019 editions.
Santos managing director and chief executive Kevin Gallagher said the new deal was agreed following talks with the South Australian government, which commenced during this year’s edition of the event back in January. This year’s race attracted more than 839,000 spectators.
Leon Bignell, South Australia’s Minister for Tourism, said: “We really value the wonderful partnership we have with Santos because their whole team get involved. They have an amazing ride to work ratio among their workforce and their staff volunteer in many roles during the Santos Tour Down Under.
“The Santos Tour Down Under and its associated events are critical to our tourism industry – last year’s race injected a massive A$56.5m (€38m/$43.3m) into our State’s economy and created hundreds of jobs.
“The 2018 Santos Tour Down Under aims to deliver even bigger results as we aim for record crowds hitting the one million mark to celebrate the 20th edition of the race.”
Santos first signed up as the event’s naming-rights partner in 2010. The 2018 Tour Down Under will run from January 13-21.