Yodel gets into gear for the Tour of Britain
Yodel, the UK's leading parcel delivery company, is gearing up for the Tour of Britain, the UK's biggest professional cycle race, which starts this weekend.
Yodel, the UK's leading parcel delivery company, is gearing up for the Tour of Britain, the UK's biggest professional cycle race, which starts this weekend.
Yodel is the official logistics partner of this year's Tour, which is the largest free-to-attend sporting event in Britain. Starting in Peebles this Sunday, 11 September, the eight day race will be taking in cities and towns across England, Scotland and Wales before it reaches its conclusion in central London on Sunday 18 September.
This is the second year that Yodel has been involved with the world class event, but the first that is has been one of the lead sponsors. Yodel branding will be prominently displayed throughout the Tour and each stage of the competition will include three intermediate Yodel Sprints within it, with the daily leader of the Sprints Classification being awarded the official Yodel Sprints jersey.
Cycling has seen a massive surge in popularity in recent years, with an estimated 13 million people taking to their bikes in the UK and sales of bicycles rising by 28% between 2009 and 2010, according to a recent report by the London School of Economics. Yodel is the logistics partner for a number of major cycling retailers, including Halfords, Evans Cycles and Merida Bicycles, delivering over 122,000 consignments of bikes and cycling accessories every year for those three accounts alone.
As well as the thousands of fans, local residents and tourists who are due to turn out to watch the race, over 400,000 are expected to tune into the daily highlights on ITV4 to watch the teams, including British favourites Mark Cavendish and Geraint Thomas, speed through the streets.
Commenting on the sponsorship, Yodel's Chief Executive, Jonathan Smith, said; "For Yodel the event has a number of synergies with our own business. Like the Tour we are a national, British company with a focus on local delivery, handling over 200 million parcels per year.
"Like the race, speed and teamwork is crucial to ensure an efficient service and Yodel also has its own green agenda which makes this alignment with cycling a winning combination."