The Tour de France is much more than just a bike race. It is a sporting and cultural event that fascinates millions of people around the world. A celebration of effort, tenacity and the spirit of sacrifice, but also an opportunity to discover breathtaking landscapes and learn about different cultures. In fact, since 1954 La Grande Boucle has always started from a foreign country and this year, for the first time, it started from Italy, and in particular from Florence. An unmissable opportunity that Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, Sidi and Caffè Borbone were able to seize

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Sidi was the protagonist of the event as 11 of the champions who took part in the race, including the reigning Italian champion Alberto Bettiol, wear shoes made by the company based in Maser. Not only, Sidi also took part in BeCycle, the first edition of an exhibition dedicated to cycling lovers organised by Pitti Immagine, which took place at the Leopolda in Florence in conjunction with the start of the Tour. At BeCycle Sidi exhibited some of the iconic footwear of Tour de France champions, starting with those worn in 1983 by Laurent Fignon, winner of La Grande Boucle that year.

Caffè Borbone couldn't miss this appointment with the Tour as it recently launched a cycling partnership with the Team Technipes #inEmiliaRomagna, an unprecedented project born from an idea of Davide Cassani, former technical commissioner of the Italian national cycling team and current “voice” of the Giro d'Italia and the Tour. The aim is to train and support promising young people by providing them with a dedicated team of experts who will help them cultivate their talent and grow up to become professional cyclists.

Caffè Borbone sponsored the commemorative shirt “Davide Cassani & friends on Tour 2024”, a ride organised by Davide Cassani along the route of the first three stages of the Tour, together with some selected professionals from the world of economics and finance, united by a passion for cycling.

Officina Profumo-Farmaceutica di Santa Maria Novella, on the other hand, chose to celebrate La Grande Boucle by displaying the bike used by Marco Pantani when he last won the Tour de France in 2000. It stands in the window of the historic shop in Florence, surrounded by a special floral arrangement which is a tribute to both the champion and the race.

The shop in Via della Scala was also the scene of a special event that involved Italmobiliare, Sidi and Caffè Borbone and saw the participation of illustrious guests including Bernard Thévenet, multiple Tour winner, Christian Prudhomme, general director of the race since 2007, Davide Cassani and Dario Nardella, who as Mayor of Florence played a fundamental role in bringing la Grande Boucle to the Tuscan capital.