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Skoda Designs Victors' Trophies For Tour de France (370)

Tens of thousands of people will be celebrating the winners of the Tour de France along the Champs-Elysées on 27 July. This year’s proud winners will once again be raising Czech-made crystal glass trophies high in the Parisian sky. The victors’ trophies have been designed at the ŠKODA Design Studios and cut by Lasvit Glass in the Czech Republic.

ŠKODA Board member for Purchasing, Karlheinz Hell will be presenting the sculptures to the winners of the Yellow, White, Green and dotted jerseys. ŠKODA has supported Le Tour as the official sponsor and official vehicle partner for the past eleven years.

"Success demands a clear goal in addition to talent and a great deal of effort," says ŠKODA Chief Designer, Jozef Kaba?. "For the crème de la crème, we symbolize this relationship with clear crystal and finely honed lines. The moment of victory will be captured forever in these ŠKODA trophies."

The Tour de France represents dynamism, passion and power. For ŠKODA designer Peter Olah, this emotional triad was the creative inspiration for designing the victors’ trophies. With their captivating, dynamic elegance, the 60cm, 4kg sculptures feature an exciting interplay of light curves, three-dimensional contours and sharp corners. The inspirational ŠKODA VisionC, presented in early March, will also be making an appearance. The five-door coupé design concept has captivated audiences with its expressive style and dynamic elegance, demonstrating the next stage in the evolution of ŠKODA Design.

Presenting the trophies to this year’s Tour winners will be once again be the crowning glory of ŠKODA’s sponsorship of the Tour de France. The strong ŠKODA fleet of vehicles is at the core of the brand’s sponsorship engagement. Around 250 cars – mainly ŠKODA Octavia Wagons and ŠKODA Superbs – are to be used as support vehicles around clock. At the very forefront is a ŠKODA Superb – the official ‘Red Car’ and the mobile command centre for the Tour Director, Christian Prudhomme.

In addition, ŠKODA’s sponsorship of the Tour de France will be accompanied by a broad communications campaign. ŠKODA has also launched a completely new site WeLoveCycling.com, featuring live reports, films and lots of information from the world of cycling.