The 16th of June 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Live on Tour: event concert of the Tour de France
Thanks to its capacity to move to its fans, cycling and the Tour de France in particular is more than any other sport made for major meetings. The mixture of kinds, the association of different people have fully been part of the Tour's tradition for over a hundred years. That is why the idea to set up a a huge capacity event in the tradition of the large musical evenings that followed the “Grande Boucle” until the 70s, has naturally united the Tour organisers and the city of Dax.
Before the arrival of the cycling pack in the Landes area, a concert where over 10 000 spectators are awaited will be programmed during the evening of July the 10th. Like for the Tour that gathers 15 milion fans on the side of the roads, the show will be free, 100% live, during over three hours and open to all: a guaranteed moment of pleasure and friendship. The musical programming with known artists and talents to come adresses itself to a large and diversified crowd. As of 7:30 PM, artists will be performing on the Dax stage with the likes of guitar-crooner Ben Ricour, Vegastar a band at the borders of New Wave and Neo Metal, and Astonvilla now well-known on the French rock scene.
Live on Tour, the event concert
Dax, 10th of July 2006 at 7:30 PM
Place de la Fontaine Chaud
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The 13th of June 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Tour de France Direction Press Release
With three weeks to go before the start of the Tour de France and due to the information that they have concerning the recent doping issues revealed in Spain, the organisers of the event have decided to take the following decisions:
As the Tour management had mentionned when delivering its two invitations for the next Tour de France and faithful to its principals concerning the fight against doping, the two teams, Agritubel and Comunidad Valenciana needed to be faultless on a ethics point of view. The situation of Comunidad Valenciana's sporting director, although he has left his functions, has forced the organisers to withdraw the team's invitation.
The team will not be replaced.
Concerning the case of Manolo Saiz in this issue, prejudicial to cycling's image, the Tour de France has taken into account the fact of his withdrawal from the Tour. A withdrawal that the race organisation would have requested anyway.
Concerning his team and because of this year's system, except for invitations, the participation is decided by the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) through the attribution of licences by a special commission. Therefore the Tour de France awaits an upcoming decision of this commission concerning the presence in its event of a team in which one of the main shareholders is blamed in a doping issue.
Finally if riders or members of the team staff are accused by the Spanish justice before the start or during the event, the ethics code decided by the sporting groups envisaging the withdrawal or retiry of people concerned, will be strongly applied.
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The 2nd of March 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Agritubel and Comunidad Valenciana invited on the Tour
On the occasion of the presentation of the cycling races organised in 2006 by A.S.O., Jean-Marie Leblanc, General Director of A.S.0. and Christian Prudhomme, Director of the Tour de France, have announced the invitation of teams Agritubel and Comunidad Valenciana for the next Tour de France. The French formation, that will be counting on its leader Juan-Miguel Mercado, already a stage winner in the race back in 2004 (Lons-le-Saunier), and the Spanish squad led by the likes of Ruben Plaza, 6th overall of the 2005 Vuelta, will be racing alongside the twenty teams already selected. Based on the fact that no other invitations will be given out, the pack that will take off from Strasbourg on the 1st of July will therefore be made of 22 teams and a total of 198 riders.
The 22 teams selected
AG2R Prevoyance
Agritubel
Bouygues Telecom
Caisse d’Epargne - Illes Balears
Cofidis crédit par téléphone
Comunidad Valenciana
Credit Agricole
Team CSC |
Davitamon – Lotto
Discovery Channel Team
Euskatel – Euskadi
FDJeux.com
Gerolsteiner
Lampre
Liberty Seguros Würth Team
Liquigas |
Team Milram
Phonak Hearing Systems
Quickstep
Rabobank
Saunier Duval – Prodir
T-Mobile Team |
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The 1st of February 2006
PRESS RELEASE
Travel at the heart of the Tour de France
Amateur cyclists and all cycling enthusiasts will from now on have the opportunity of following the Tour de France from the inside. From 2006, preferential reception facilities are organised for those travelling with one of the six travel agencies authorised to propose “Tour de France” trips. Via these packages, spectators may cross the line into the behind-the-scenes universe of the Tour, with the possibility of following the race route on one or more stages.
These official Tour de France travellers will notably have access, at certain times, to areas of life on the Tour usually prohibited to the general public, along with services exclusively reserved to sponsors of the event. The different tour operators, selected according to their experience in sports travel, notably benefit from facilities concerning accommodation and are relayed within the organisation.
These trips, for which A.S.O. has defined a top level of service, will be limited to twenty participants per week and per agency.
For details of the agencies and the packages: www.letour.fr
