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	France: Tour de France 2010 - Motorcycle and Some Figures 7 July 2010   File under  Racing France   Author: Mike Werner   Location: Normandy, France I can't think of any race, apart from the Dakar , that attracts so much attention, and that is the Tour de France bicycle race. Not only is the race impressive, since you require almost superhuman strength and stamina (hence the often cases of doping), but also the organization of such an event is incredible. It's no surprise that both races, the Dakar and the Tour, are both organized by the same organization, ASO . The motorcycles on the tour are numerous. I already wrote two articles on them (see at the bottom of this article). But what about the rest of the Tour? Just have a look at the publicity caravan. The publicity caravan consists of the cars, truck and floats that make up the sponsors of the Tour. In other words, you pay the Tour the big bucks, and then you can not only put your logo on billboards and posters, but also you enter a truck or two in the parade. The parade itself is about 20 kilometers long, with some 160 vehicles representing 33 brands. During the parade, gifts are thrown at the eagerly awaiting public, 16 million gifts to be precise. Usually, the gifts are product samples. According to a recent survey, 39% of the Tour's spectators come foremost to see the publicity caravan. The parade lasts about 45 minutes, and is managed by 12 republican guard police (most on a motorcycle) and 4 traffic regulators on motorcycles (Kawasaki , since they are the sponsors). There are also 3 medical motorcycles for people who might faint when they receive a free gift... It cost the companies €200,000 to €500,000 to invest for the parade, and since the publicity caravan was invented 80 years ago, and is still going strong, I'd say that the investment pays off. Have a look at the video below of the publicity caravan. Kawasaki have been one of the big sponsors for a few years now. They supply all the official motorcycles (some 27 motorcycles), for the Tour staff & stewards, medics and publicity caravan. You can read more about it in the related articles below. But it's not only Kawasaki that ride the Tour....: © A.S.O. / Bruno Bade Some other figures that may interest you. TV Cameras There are some 260 TV cameramen (and women, I guess), most of them riding pillion on a motorcycle, or standing at the sidelines, transmitting images to 118 TV stations in 186 countries around the world. Most motorcycles are BMWs. Often they have got 6 figures already on the clock, and are old model LTs, RTs and a few GSs. My former BMW garage in Paris used to (and probably still does) maintain many of the TV station motorcycles, and I was always amazed at the age of these bikes. © A.S.O. Photographers If you think the job as rider is easy, think again. In most cases, you need to be riding extremely slowly in & out of traffic, with not only a heavy TV camera, but also a cameraman who is moving nonstop, shifting your center of gravity at low speed. And then on the downhill parts of the mountains, you need to not only ride fast through the curves, taking care not to hit the cyclists, but also allow them the perfect curve angle. Not easy. There are also some 240 photographers working the tour, representing 70 agencies and newspapers. Most of them are riding pillion on the back of usually newer BMW motorcycles. Tour de France Publicity Caravan (5 minutes 6 seconds) Read related articles: Tour de France's Motorcycles Tour de France 2006 & Kawasaki Motorcycles Danger For Motorcycles In The Tour De France Tour de France 2009: Motorcycle Kills Woman Spectator Motorcycle The Cause Of The Tour De France Crash Article Review & Rating (for the article, not the content) Technorati :BMW Kawasaki Motorbikes Motorcycles Tour de France   Save This Page to del.icio.us Tweet     France: Tour de France 2010 - Motorcycle and Some Figures   Click here to go to main News Page	Click here for our free daily/weekly newsletter        Ads by Motorbiker                              Buy Motorcycle Jackets at Revzilla   Buy Motorcycle Helmets at Revzilla   Motorcycle Helmets from Jafrum   Motorcycle Saddlebags   Harley Davidson Boots   Find deals on boys bikes @ Tesco   Motorcycle Jackets at RagingMoto   Uship Motorcycle Shipping  Click here to Show/Hide   - Ads  - RSS  - Aprilia  - RSS  - Awards  - RSS  - Bajaj  - RSS  - Benelli  - RSS  - Bluetooth  - RSS  - BMW  - RSS  - Books  - RSS  - Buell  - RSS  - Cargo  - RSS  - Celebrities  - RSS  - Dakar Race  - RSS  - Derbi  - RSS  - Ducati  - RSS  - Ecology  - RSS  - Editorial  - RSS  - EICMA  - RSS  - Electrical  - RSS  - Entertainment  - RSS  - Events  - RSS  - Exhibitions  - RSS  - Female  - RSS  - France  - RSS  - Funny  - RSS  - Gadgets  - RSS  - Gifts  - RSS  - GPS  - RSS  - Harley-Davidson  - RSS  - Helmets  - RSS  - Honda  - RSS  - Husaberg  - RSS  - Husqvarna  - RSS  - Ideas  - RSS  - Interviews  - RSS  - Kawasaki  - RSS  - KTM  - RSS  - Lists  - RSS  - Moto Guzzi  - RSS  - Movie Review  - RSS  - MV Agusta  - RSS  - MZ  - RSS  - New Products  - RSS  - News  - RSS  - Opinion  - RSS  - Personal  - RSS  - Piaggio  - RSS  - Product Review  - RSS  - Protests  - RSS  - Racing  - RSS  - Records  - RSS  - Royal Enfield  - RSS  - Rumors  - RSS  - Safety  - RSS  - Scooters  - RSS  - Sidecar  - RSS  - Special-Bikes  - RSS  - Statistics  - RSS  - Suzuki  - RSS  - System  - RSS  - Tips/How To  - RSS  - Travel  - RSS  - Triumph  - RSS  - Uniformed  - RSS  - Vespa  - RSS  - Video Feeds  - RSS  - Voxan  - RSS  - Web  - RSS  - Yamaha  - RSS  Click here to Show/Hide   - February 2012  - January 2012  - December 2011  - November 2011  - October 2011  - September 2011  - August 2011  - July 2011  - June 2011  - May 2011  - April 2011  - March 2011  - February 2011  - January 2011  - December 2010  - November 2010  - October 2010  - September 2010  - August 2010  - July 2010  - June 2010  - May 2010  - April 2010  - March 2010  - February 2010  - January 2010  - December 2009  - November 2009  - October 2009  - September 2009  - August 2009  - July 2009  - June 2009  - May 2009  - April 2009  - March 2009  - February 2009  - January 2009  - December 2008  - November 2008  - October 2008  - September 2008  - August 2008  - July 2008  - June 2008  - May 2008  - April 2008  - March 2008  - February 2008  - January 2008  - December 2007  - November 2007  - October 2007  - September 2007  - August 2007  - July 2007  - June 2007  - May 2007  - April 2007  - March 2007  - February 2007  - January 2007  - December 2006  - November 2006  - October 2006  - September 2006  - August 2006  - July 2006  - June 2006  - May 2006  - April 2006  - March 2006  - February 2006  - January 2006  - December 2005  - November 2005  - October 2005  - September 2005  - August 2005  - July 2005  - June 2005  - May 2005  - April 2005  - March 2005  - February 2005  - January 2005  - December 2004  - November 2004  - October 2004  - September 2004  - August 2004  - July 2004  - June 2004  - May 2004  - April 2004  - March 2004  - February 2004  - January 2004  - December 2003  - November 2003  - October 2003  - September 2003  - August 2003  - July 2003  - June 2003  - May 2003  - April 2003  - March 2003  - February 2003  - January 2003  Click here to Show/Hide    Motorcycle  - Motorbiker.org  - Other Motorcycles Links....   Other Links  - VisitNormandy Advertise on this site! 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