Le Coq Replace Nike as Tour de France Leaders Jersey Sponsor

Le Coq Sportif has signed a deal with Tour de France organisers ASO that will see the company sponsor the leader’s yellow jersey in cycling’s most prestigious stage race.

As part of the deal which will become active in 2012, the French sportswear manufacturer will supply sports clothing – including all prize jerseys – to all races organised by ASO, including the Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana, Paris-Nice, Paris-Roubaix and the Criterium du Dauphine.

The brand will replace Nike, who have had a deal with ASO since 1996, having spent 20 years away from the Tour de France after the company first supplied equipment to the Tour in 1951, an association which ended in 1988.

A Le Coq Sportif spokesman described the new deal as “the perfect gift to celebrate the brand’s 130th anniversary.”