At the Tour de France, you’ve got to get up early – not only the riders aimingto win the world’s biggest bicycle race know that. Helmut Masal, whonormally works at the <strong>Storck</strong>-Store Idstein as a customer consultant, isinured to long summer days in France as well. When automaker and tourpartner Skoda was looking for a bike manufacturer to supply racing machines to ahospitality program at the Tour de France, <strong>Storck</strong> was chosen – and Helmut Masal.“Skoda was hosting 15 guests per day at the Tour for a period of three weeks,” recallsthe road bike expert, who recently returned from his second French tour, sporting asuntan. “Corporate partners, suppliers and winners of contests. All of them bicycleracing fans? Far from it! “A number of our guests had never sat on a road bikebefore,” says Masal, still with an air of surprise. “But many of them told me afterwardthat the ride in the morning had been the highlight of the day” – despite the fact thatthe tour on the <strong>Storck</strong> race bikes had to take place before breakfast because of theaction-packed all-day program: transfer after breakfast to the Village Départ, thestarting area where the high society of the Tour gathers in the morning, followed bythe wild chase through the riders’ field in the VIP Skoda with former professional racedrivers at the wheel, and then boarding a helicopter to watch the spectacle from theair and to arrive at the finish in time for the grand finale.While Skoda’s guests indulge in the Tour de France euphoria, Helmut Masal has longhit the road again. In some cases, the distance between the hotels at the variousstages is several hundred kilometers, and as soon as Masal has arrived he’s got toget everything ready for the next day: cleaning road bikes, performing small repairsand making sure that a <strong>Storck</strong> racer of the right size is available for every guest – nota problem with 23 racing machines on board of the <strong>Storck</strong> truck but no mean feat interms of organizational skills. “I’ve got to admit that this was a bit of stress, butcertainly interesting – I suppose that’s what the life of a mechanic on a pro team islike, except that these guys do that 250 days a year!” For the second rest day of the2013 Tour, the hosts had come up with a really special idea: “Instead of the shortround before breakfast, the visitors had the opportunity to ride a full 100-kilometerdistance,” relates Masal. “They started in two performance groups so that evenroad bike rookies wouldn’t become stressed out.” Motivation for both beginners andseasoned cyclists was provided by the fine, perfectly adjusted carbon bikes that Masaldelivered to the hotel’s doorstep for them. “The Eureka effect whenever someone liftsa seven-kilo bike for the first time is always great to watch,” says the technician, whohad the opportunity to experience this astonishment more than once during the threeweeks of the Tour de France. “Actually, most of the guests didn’t really ride a lot, but abrief idea of riding, along with the impressions of the Tour de France, did sell most ofthem on the merits of a road bike.”A visit to the Tour de France is only perfect in every way though if it takes place in thecompany of cycling pros – and in this respect Skoda and <strong>Storck</strong> treated the guests toan amazing experience. In addition to German top-caliber riders in retirement, suchas Steffen Wesemann and David Kopp, a genuine Tour de France winner accompaniedthe guests on the bike and by car. Stephen Roche from Ireland, who in his sensational1987 season first won the Giro d’Italia and then the Tour plus the World Championshipafterward was on hand for the second time to guide the happy VIPs through ‘his’ race– naturally on a carbon bike by <strong>Storck</strong>. “When a former Tour winner hands over thebike to you after a ride with a nod of approval – well that’s definitely a special experience,says Helmut Masal, recalling the occasion while he gazes off into the distancethrough the glass front of the <strong>Storck</strong>-Store Idstein. He’s seen many critical customersturning into enthusiastic <strong>Storck</strong> riders in his day – but the recognition by StephenRoche sticks. That, too, makes it worth shouldering long summer days in France.
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