During this year’s Tour de France (July 6th-28th), Buckinghamshire businesses have a unique chance to capitalise on all the fun and activity by getting involved with the UK’s affiliated event – L’Etape UK – the only official Tour de France sportive (cycling event) in the UK. Cycling tours such as Tour de Yorkshire and L'Etape Caledonia have been proven to massively boost the local economy, in Yorkshire’s case by £98 million.

This Chilterns cycling extravaganza takes place on July 14th, fittingly on Bastille Day, France’s national day. This is a great chance to showcase local businesses, who can get involved with this event and the global Tour de France brand in many ways:

• Enter teams of cyclists and even compete in the ‘Corporate Clash’ against other companies across three professionally designed routes through the Chiltern Hills
• Sponsorship and partnership opportunities with L’Etape UK
• Bring staff and clients to the Tour de France Fan Park at Penn House. There are opportunities for local businesses to exhibit - you could put up a marquee and receive VIP hospitality while watching Stage 9 of the Tour de France live on a big screen.
• Decorating the exterior of workplaces along the route and cafes, restaurants and bars offering up French-themed food and drink

Contact details for more information

There are discounts available for large group bookings. For more information, contact Nick O’Brien, Festival Organiser: nick@grupettocreative.com / 07711 010601.

Benefits for the local community and charities

L’Etape UK will bring the local community together and promote the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and its attractions to a wide audience with PR, social media and press coverage.

There are several ways for local people to get involved with the event and support the community:

• Fundraising for local charities and community groups by cyclists taking part
• Creating fun focal points along the route with banners, displays and music and decorating buildings, walls, hedges and gates. There may be prizes on offer to children for the best painted bikes or welcome signs.
• Head to the Fan Park at Penn House for a family day out
• Keeping the good vibes going after the riders have passed through by holding picnics and BBQs

The organisers are keen to hear from communities who want to decorate the route with bunting and yellow dots, both of which are available from the race organisers.

For more information, contact Nick O’Brien, Festival Organiser: nick@grupettocreative.com / 07711 010601. Visit the official L’Etape UK website for more background information.