Hanover, 27th July 2009. Exhausted and weary, yet successful and rightly proud of their performance, the 'Continental riders' finished the 96th edition of the Tour de France on Sunday evening in Paris on the Champs Elysées, the French capital's famous boulevard. Well-equipped with hand-made high performance tyres from Continental, the riders from the four professional racing teams Columbia HTC, Caisse d'Epargne, Milram and Silence-Lotto truly earned their place among the world's cycling élite. Both for the riders, some of whom cover 30,000 kilometres per year in the saddle for training purposes and participating at events, and for the tyres, the 3,500 kilometres of the Tour de France, under the most arduous conditions, were a genuine endurance test and they acquitted themselves brilliantly.
This year the world's top professional cyclists once again benefited from the decades of experience gained by the bicycle tyre experts in Korbach, in the German federal state of Hesse. With over 130 years' experience developing and producing bicycle tyres, plus the use of the best quality material, Continental has become a manufacturer of premium products in this sector. For the three week 'Tour of suffering' Continental equipped the four professional racing teams with 'Competition 22 pro limited' tube-type tyres and 'Podium 22 pro limited' for exceptional challenges.
The best provisions were made for all eventualities during the race. For travel on the flat and in the mountains, the mechanics' comprehensive stock included powerful, sturdy tyres, whilst - like with motor sports - special products were on hand for riding on wet ground. And what makes the high-tech tyres used in the three time-trials (one team event, two for individuals) outstanding is their extremely low weight.
The experience gained each year during the world's toughest cycle race is used by the engineers and designers in Korbach and integrated into their standard production tyres. This ensures that amateur riders and leisure cyclists with different levels of proficiency and requirements always have the best equipment for their needs. This includes, for example, tube-type tyres made from a liquid crystal fibre - this material, which is highly cut-resistant, had proved itself on the Tour and helps to avoid tyre failures.
