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Executives from Swiss watch brand Tissot have signed a five year sponsorship contract with Amaury Sport Organisation to become the Official Timekeeper of the Tour de France and other ASO events. The previous time keeper was Festina.
Tissot is a member of the Swatch Group, and has been most involved in cycling for more than 50 years. The brand was Official Timekeeper of the Tour de France from 1988 to 1992, and has been sponsoring UCI cycling events since 1995. Tissot has been the official timekeeper of the UCI’s road, trail, mountain-bike and BMX cycling world championships, world cup cycling time trials and the MTB world championships.
Tissot will be the timer at La Flèche Wallonne and the Vuelta a España and other major cycling events as well as the Tour de France.
François Thiébaud, chairman and CEO of Tissot said: “Out of all the international cycling competitions, the Tour de France is the most highly regarded and admired of them all because it brings together the best cyclists in the world to compete in various flat, rugged and mountainous stages and even a stage against the clock, be it a solo or team effort.”
Christian Prudhomme, director of the Tour de France said: “Cycling time trials come down to a few seconds, sometimes even a few milliseconds at certain finish lines. It’s essential to be able to trust a timekeeper that shares the same vision of our sport as A.S.O; by putting the cyclists’ efforts first and giving them the credit they deserve in the eyes of the public."
