Town hopes to spin Tour profit

"We see this as an opportunity to reach all the categories of our clientele," says Daniel Isaac, head of sponsorship for Credit Lyonnais, which has just signed a contract to sponsor the yellow jersey for another five years, at a cost of $4.6 million a year. "To be associated with an event like the Tour de France is very useful to us."

Ordinary Credit Lyonnais customers have to be satisfied with a Biro pen or a racing cap. Top corporate clients get better treatment. Each day, the bank flies in a dozen or so VIPs to watch the race from the comfort of a hospitality tent erected in the tour village near the starting line. On hand to help explain the subtleties of the race is Roland Poulidor, a veteran star cyclist who raced in the tour in the 1970s.

The US Postal Service, which sponsors Lance Armstrong, spent an estimated $25 million this year on a contract to sponsor his team for another four years.

And wherever the tour goes, it brings money in its wake. "It's amazing how many people come to watch," says Michel Audard, who owns the village grocery store in Régnié-Durette. "This is going to mean good business for the shops in town, and we are all on a war footing." Making the most of its moment in the publicity sun, the village – population 933 – has decked out its one street with flags, hung bicycles of vari- ous vintages out of windows, and planted the main square with red and white flowers in the shape of a cycling jersey.

Régnié-Durette has submitted applications to host a stage of the race since 1995, but geography and the town's small size – which enables it only to host a time trial – hurt its chances. This year, however, intense lobbying by Mr. Cinquint, a friend of tour director Jean-Marie Leblanc, finally paid off.

The honor of hosting the Tour de France comes at a cost, however. Régnié-Durette paid $46,000 to the tour organizers for the privilege, and has spent another $200,000 on boosting the village's electricity supply, installing new water sources, arranging several days of festivities, and advertising the event.

Most of the costs have been met by regional government bodies and by the local association of winemakers, who first had the idea of inviting the tour to the village eight years ago. "But making an investment like this means we have had to put off other projects such as road repairs," says village mayor Françoise Coquillion. "It was a choice we made."

It is a choice villagers do not think they will regret. "The biggest impact we expect is in future tourism," says Ms. Coquillion, who would like to see someone open a hotel in Régnié-Durette. Hosting the tour "costs a lot, but it's still cheaper than paying for straightforward advertising."

"We'll earn all the money back, I'm sure," adds Patrick Pechard, president of the Régnié winemakers' association. "When you think of all the journalists who are ringing me up now, you know, it's hard to communicate better than through the Tour de France."

Page: 1 | 2