As a genuine commercial juggernaut, there are countless opportunities at the Tour de France for brands to showcase their wares: official partnerships (like bananas, or cursed coffee), official merchandise (like folding bikes, or knives), and official just-about-everything-else.
Nowhere is this more explicitly on display than in the Tour de France caravan. Not sure what that is? Only your new favourite thing! It’s a promotional motorcade that travels ahead of the race, with dozens of silly vehicles blasting Europop at inappropriate volume. Some of these vehicles are little baskets on wheels. Some of them are enormous floats, with people standing on the back. There are old Citroëns groaning up mountain passes, and ATVs encased in fibreglass melons. It’s extremely silly, and kitsch, and life-affirming – and has been for decades.
We need this to be brought back.
But it’s not just a feast for the eyes. As a way of getting people out to see the race and deliver a return on marketing budgets, the caravan throws thousands of little trinkets to the spectators on the roadside. It’s a wildly varied assortment – everything from pamphlets for the Asterix theme park to little bags of withered sausage. If you’re lucky, and clever in your positioning, you can end up with a mighty haul to remind you of your Big Day at the Bike Race.
Having been a close observer of the Tour de France caravan for many years, here’s what you need to know to maximise your experience.
Want to know when to get there, how to position yourself, and what vehicles have the good stuff?
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