The 111th edition of the Tour de France begins - InPost Group official partner of the race
27 June 2024
The 111th edition of the world's biggest cycling race, the Tour de France, is starting this Saturday. This year's "Great Loop", will have a special Polish accent, as the official partner of the event is the InPost Group - a leader in logistics solutions for the e-commerce industry in Europe.
- This year, for the first time, we as InPost Group are the official partner of this iconic cycling race, which is also the largest annual sporting event in the world. InPost Group's partnership with the Tour de France is an expression of our business approach to being present in more European markets. France, alongside Poland, the UK, Spain and Italy, is one of the key markets for InPost Group. Our presence at the TdF will help raise awareness among French and Italian consumers and online retailers of best-in-class e-commerce delivery solutions. Cycling promotes values such as green transport, passion for competition and, of course, speed. At InPost, these are values that we live up to every day," says Rafał Brzoska , chairman and founder of InPost.
The Tour de France has a huge history. For the 26th time, the race will start outside France - this year, for the first time, the Grand Départ will be hosted by Italy. The competition will start in Florence, with the first three stages fully contested on Italian territory. In turn, the finish of the race has always been located in Paris, the French capital, which has almost become an ironclad tradition. This year, however, the riders will not finish on the Champs Elysees but in picturesque Nice.
- It fills me with very strong pride every time I see Polish fans or Polish media on the Tour de France route, and this year I will be even more proud that the InPost Group is a partner of the race. Poland comes to the Tour de France and we try to show ourselves there, what our values are, what we represent and what we can do. It gives me a lot of confidence, a lot of pride. I am glad that the Polish brand InPost will be there and will want to make its presence felt," he says Michał Kwiatkowski , a Polish cyclist who has two stage wins in the Grand Loop to his credit, in 2020 and 2023.
For the InPost Group, France is one of the most important markets - alongside Poland, the UK, Spain and Italy. In France and the Benelux countries, InPost operates under the Mondial Relay brand, which is one of the leaders in OOH (out-of-home) delivery in these markets.
On the occasion of the Tour de France, InPost will implement a comprehensive activation campaign in Poland. As part of its official partnership with the world's most popular sports app, Strava, the brand is organising an unusual challenge for cycling enthusiasts - the Tour de InPost. It will be split into two groups - for advanced cyclists, who will have to cycle a minimum of nine times of fifty kilometres each on a specific date between 1 and 21 July, and for less committed riding enthusiasts, who will have to cycle a minimum of ten kilometres nine times during the same period. In this way, InPost wants to encourage Poles to take up cycling and, above all, to move and live a healthy lifestyle.
- We want the InPost brand to be associated with the best marketing activations in the world of sport. Therefore, not only will we undertake activities related to building awareness of our Tour de France sponsorship and reaching out to cycling fans, but we also want InPost to play an important social role. With our activities, we want to encourage Poles to practice sport and get out on their bikes, regardless of their level and current form. That is why I encourage everyone to participate in the Tour de InPost," says Izabela Karolczyk-Szafrańska , Chief Marketing & ESG Officer InPost Group.
For taking part in the InPost challenge, one can win very attractive prizes, including unique InPost bicycles prepared in partnership with the Decathlon brand, as well as participation in meetings with the best Polish cyclist, participant in this year's Tour de France, and past winner of stages in the Great Loop, Michal Kwiatkowski. In addition, there are many attractive cycling gadgets related to the Tour de France in the prize pool.
For more information on participation and the rules of the Tour de InPost, visit the dedicated website www.tourdeinpost.p l.
The InPost Group, whose branding will be present in the last fifty kilometres of each stage of the Tour de France, is preparing a special zone for fans during the Grand Départ in Florence and before the finish in Nice. Just two days before the start of the race, there will be a number of activities at the InPost zone near the start of the Grand Départ. One of these will be the cycling competition element. Its aim is not only to win, participants will virtually race along the route of this year's Tour de France, and every ten kilometres they ride on a stationary bike will be equal to one tree planted by the brand. Cycling fans will also be able to write a message to their favourite riders, and the InPost Group will deliver parcels with them to the appropriate addressees.
Live broadcasts of this year's Tour de France on the Eurosport channel are invited by InPost, the official sponsor of the Polish broadcast.