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Mladá Boleslav/Paris, 27 July 2014 – Triumph in Paris: Vincenzo Nibali from Italy wins Tour de France 2014. After three weeks and 3,660 tough kilometres, hundreds of thousands of Tour fans are preparing for the cyclists' emotional arrival on the Champs-Élysées. It was with great pride that Vincenzo Nibali and the other winners raised the Czech crystal trophies created by ŠKODA designers into the Parisian sky. This year ŠKODA was the official partner of the most famous bicycle race in the world for the eleventh time.

On Champs-Élysées, ŠKODA Board member for Purchasing, Karlheinz Hell congratulated the overall winner Vincenzo Nibali and presented the trophy to the winner of the White Jersey, Thibaut Pinot from France, being the best young rider under 25. Rafaj Majka from Poland won the polka-dot jersey as the best climber. The best sprinter and winner of the green jersey was Peter Sagan from Slovakia. All four athletes were delighted to receive the trophies made of Czech crystal – created in the ŠKODA design studios by ŠKODA designer Peter Olah.

Werner Eichhorn, ŠKODA Board Member for sales and marketing, made a positive summary of ŠKODA's involvement: "We once again saw some very inspiring cycling at this year's Tour. As the eleventh time official partner, we are delighted to have made our contribution to this fantastic event." In addition to providing the strong ŠKODA fleet of around 250 vehicles, the Czech manufacturer was an ever-present supporter with large-format advertising at the start and finishing line and along the track itself. ŠKODA also accompanied the Tour de France with a broad communications campaign, including the new website WeLoveCycling.com. The brand reached a total of 16 million fans along the track, and around 3.5 billion people worldwide, watching at home on the TV and Internet.

This year the most prominent ŠKODA was the 'Red Car': the red ŠKODA Superb, leading the riders throughout the Tour, was the mobile control centre for Tour Director Christian Prudhomme. A strong ŠKODA vehicle fleet of around 250 vehicles was available around the clock along the entire Tour de France route. Since the very beginning, the fleet has been a major part of ŠKODA's involvement. The vehicles have covered 28 million kilometres since first being deployed in 2004 without breaking down once.

This successful, long-standing sponsorship of the Tour de France and other national and international cycling events emphasizes the close relationship the company has with this sport. The company's roots lie in the production of bicycles by ŠKODA founding fathers Laurin and Klement in 1895. Consequently, in addition to hockey and ŠKODA Motorsport, cycling is a very important pillar of ŠKODA's sponsorship strategy.

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