June / July 2012 Newsletter and Tour de France Recap
It has been an incredible last month in the world of cycling with the 99th edition of the Tour de France taking place on the roads of Belgium, Switzerland and France. For SportsPulsions.com the tour has been our busiest and best ever, welcoming guests from the US, Australia, France, Canada, UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, NZ, Belgium, Norway and more. The experiences of our guests have been wide and varied with some joining us for a day and others as much as 2 weeks. Congrats to Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky for a comprehensive and deserved victory.
Week 1:
On the 26th of June we put to work, making the final preparations to our bikes and stocking the vans for the month ahead before then heading up to Brussels. Our first group from Cycling Australia Tours arrived in Brussels on the 28th which gave us some time for reconnaissance riding on the roads of the Spring Classics.
In 2012 we formed a partnership with Cycling Australia to assist them in the development of their tour programs through the provision of the logistics and guiding on the ground here in Europe. Travelling on a Cycling Australia program offers unrivalled experiences for the cycling enthusiast as they open doors to their guests that only the peak body of the sport can. Former Australian champion and CSC Tour winning Directeur Sportif Scott Sunderland hosted the group throughout the tour as part of the guest support that Cycling Australia provides. The knowledge and enthusiasm that Scott shared with the group was incredible.
The guests enjoyed a week of degustation! From riding the classic routes of Tour de Flandres, Liege Bastogne Liege and Fleche Wallone to riding on the Tour de France race route itself (including crossing the finish line and standing atop the podium) the cycling was sensational. Away from the bike the guests enjoyed dining in Michelin star restaurants, tours of the local region and staying in the finest hotels. The week itself culminated in the Northern city of Lille where guests chose between a ride on the famous cobbles of the Foret d'Arenberg or a city tour in the French classic '2CV' automobile.
It has been an incredible last month in the world of cycling with the 99th edition of the Tour de France taking place on the roads of Belgium, Switzerland and France. For SportsPulsions.com the tour has been our busiest and best ever, welcoming guests from the US, Australia, France, Canada, UK, Spain, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, NZ, Belgium, Norway and more. The experiences of our guests have been wide and varied with some joining us for a day and others as much as 2 weeks. Congrats to Bradley Wiggins and Team Sky for a comprehensive and deserved victory.
Week 1:
On the 26th of June we put to work, making the final preparations to our bikes and stocking the vans for the month ahead before then heading up to Brussels. Our first group from Cycling Australia Tours arrived in Brussels on the 28th which gave us some time for reconnaissance riding on the roads of the Spring Classics.
In 2012 we formed a partnership with Cycling Australia to assist them in the development of their tour programs through the provision of the logistics and guiding on the ground here in Europe. Travelling on a Cycling Australia program offers unrivalled experiences for the cycling enthusiast as they open doors to their guests that only the peak body of the sport can. Former Australian champion and CSC Tour winning Directeur Sportif Scott Sunderland hosted the group throughout the tour as part of the guest support that Cycling Australia provides. The knowledge and enthusiasm that Scott shared with the group was incredible.
The guests enjoyed a week of degustation! From riding the classic routes of Tour de Flandres, Liege Bastogne Liege and Fleche Wallone to riding on the Tour de France race route itself (including crossing the finish line and standing atop the podium) the cycling was sensational. Away from the bike the guests enjoyed dining in Michelin star restaurants, tours of the local region and staying in the finest hotels. The week itself culminated in the Northern city of Lille where guests chose between a ride on the famous cobbles of the Foret d'Arenberg or a city tour in the French classic '2CV' automobile.
|
|
|
|
|
Champagne region:
Shortly before the Tour started we were contacted by Craig and Natalie from the US who were going to be in France and wanted to experience the Tour. As we had a break in our tour program that matched their dates we set our guide Christophe to look after them. As a local of the Champagne region, Christophe hosted Craig and Natalie on rides in the local region and arranged for them to enjoy the atmosphere of the Tour start village in Epernay where they had a chance to rub shoulders with the teams. No visit to the region would be complete without a visit to the famous champagne houses or the great restaurants of the region which Christophe managed to fit in around the riding program.
Lyon / Mâcon:
Located in the East of France, Lyon is the gateway to the Rhone valley and Mâcon the heart of the Beaujolais region. It was here that we hosted Skoda's Vélo Club for a 3 day Le Tour immersion. Guests enjoyed hosted rides in the region past beautiful vineyards and through ancient villages, met the team from FDJ and had tours of the team bus and mechanic stations plus enjoyed a day in the official course vehicles on the stage, including the passing of the famous Grand Colombier. Guests were joined by legends of cycling including Stephen Roche, Luc Leblanc and Kilian Patour.
Final 2 weeks:
In Lyon we were joined by the guests of Cycling Australia Tours as they were to embark on an incredible journey to Paris via the Alps, Med and the Pyrenees. The group consisted of a mix of riders and non-riders, both with unique itineraries designed to take in the best of not only the Tour but the local regions as well. The Cycling Australia Tours program for non-riders is one of a kind in this sense as most operators tend to have non-riders play a support role to the riders whereas with CA they are held as priority. For the non-cyclist that wants a nice blend of tour viewing and enjoying all France has to offer we can't recommend it highly enough.
The riders, who we were there to assist, they had an incredible time. Riding mythical passes such as Grand Colombier, Glandon, Croix de Fer, Tourmalet, Peyragudes and more, riding through the regions of Provence, Med and South Western France all gave them a wonderful appreciation of the Tour. As with all our tours, we also made sure they were there in the key places to watch the race including atop Peyragudes for the final mountain top finish. As part of Cycling Australia Tours program, they also enjoyed key access to the technical zone to meet the teams, talk individually with legends like Phil Liggett and were hosted throughout by Scott Sunderland. The two weeks culminated in VIP hospitality on the Champs Elysées and then a beautiful dinner cruise on the Champs Elysées where we were joined by the President of Cycling Australia, Klauss Mueller.
We thank Cycling Australia in allowing us to assist their programs and look forward to a strong partnership going forward which continues with the upcoming World Championships in Holland. http://www.cyclingaustraliatours.com.au/
|
|
|
|
|
Inside 'Le Tour'
In 2012 we released a new style of tour program that was built around offering unrivalled access to the Tour on every stage. From Montpellier to Paris, we were joined by a fantastic group of guests that were keen to balance incredible ride experiences with top quality dining and accommodation and the best access to the inner workings of the Tour. Hosted by Sports Pulsions General Manager Didier Durin, the group road on the race route, flew above the race in helicopters, had hosted dinners by former legends of the sport, and were there at the end of each stage to witness up close the race conclusion from the VIP hospitality zone.
We look forward to further developing the program for 2013 yet still remaining the small group ideal that makes this tour so unique. To pre-register for this premium tour please email us directly at will.maley@sportspulsions.com
Paris Weekend
As part of our Tour Finale program we welcomed a mix of corporate and leisure clients to Paris for the final weekend. Staying in the beautiful Hotel Rochester Champs Elysées, our guests enjoyed VIP hospitality in the Technical Zone in Bonneval for the time trial along with reserved VIP seating by the finish line on the Champs Elysées. The program sold out very early and with the 100th Tour to be bigger and better, we recommend pre-registering your interest here
|
|
|
|
|
Riding on the Champs Elysées and ProAm
Sports Pulsions works closely with the Tour de France race organisers as a technical and logistics provider. Each year past legends of the sport along with race sponsors are invited to 'compete' in the ProAm. This year 30 riders took to the circuit between Bonneval and Chartres ahead of the pro's to compete in this fun ride. Our role is to provide the bikes, guides and mechanical support for the riders. A great day was had by all as they were cheered along by the large crowd awaiting the pro's.
In Paris, we again worked in conjunction with ASO in the staging of 2 fantastic corporate ride programs. Major Tour partner 'Group Accor' took to the Paris finale circuit on our fleet of Treks, hosted by their SP riding guides and support vehicles as they did 3 laps identical to that of the pro's later in the day and also paused for photos on the finish line and in front of the Arc de Triomphe. It was with great pleasure that we welcomed Tour legend Bernard Hinault on the ride.
Our second team of guides and mechanics was busy at the same time preparing the bikes for a group of guests from Orica GreenEDGE pro team as they would follow Accor in the riding of the Champs Elysées. Joined by sprint king Robbie McEwen and Australian personalities, Eddie McGuire, Luke Ball and Drew Morphett, the group looking splendid in their team kit and yellow jerseys rode 2 laps of the circuit with some great photos taking place on the finish line and in front of the Arc de Triomphe.
For corporate enquiries on unique ride and hospitality experiences based around cycling please email us at will.maley@sportspulsions.com
Where to next...
With the Tour complete and having thoroughly enjoyed hosting over 200 guests, the team will take a brief respite before we continue our cycling adventures. In September we will be assisting Cycling Australia Tours at the World Championships where as guests of CA you can experience in depth the racing and also behind the scenes. For more info please click here
October will see the final details of the 100th Tour de France race route released and shortly after we will release our program of experiences for the 2013 version. We recommend that you pre-register for updates as 2013 is expected to be very popular here
The Spring Classics will be a focus in March-April as we return to the key races including Paris Roubaix and Tour de Flandres. We invite you to join us on the cobbles for another memorable tour.
In 2013 we will also be operating non-race based tours which give you the chance to enjoy the Pyrenees and Alps away from the crowds all the while getting the 'Pro-Cycling Experience' that only Sports Pulsions offers. For more details click here
With Cycling Australia Tours we will be growing in to the key races of the Giro d'Italia and Milan San Remo and as these programs are released we will send through updates.
2012 has been an incredible year to date for us and we thank all our guests for making it so enjoyable. The team of guides needs to be thanked for their tireless work throughout the last month and for the passion for cycling and this region that they share with our guests. We have a brilliant group of guides who have worked with us for many years and have a fantastic rapport with our guests and we look forward to continuing to work with them for many years to come.
To Trek, Performance Nutrition and Skoda, thank you for your support of SP and cycling in general. For us to be able to support our guests each day with quality bikes, sports nutrition and support vehicles is great peace of mind and is certainly appreciated by the clients.
We look forward to welcoming you again on the roads of France and thank you for your support to date.
The team at SportsPulsions.com
