The Press Meeting of L’Étape Türkiye by Tour de France Took Place

The Press meeting was held at Portaxe Istanbul in Baltalimanı and attended by Mathieu Clanchin, Project Manager of L’Étape by Tour de France; Sezgin Lüle, Deputy General Manager of Türkiye İş Bankası; Zeynep Kahraman, Marketing Director of Beyaz Kağıt AŞ; Samile Mümin, General Manager of Visa Türkiye; Şirin Yurtseven, Marketing Director of Doğan Trend Automotive; and Enes Örer, CEO of Oğuz Holding.

Sezgin Lüle, Deputy General Manager of Türkiye İş Bankası, expressed his belief that the event, in which 3,000 athletes will participate, would be highly enjoyable, saying, “Tour de France is a major event. It’s very valuable that this organization for amateur cyclists is taking place in Turkey for the first time, and that we are supporting it. İş Bankası is 100 years old. Our bank provides significant support in science, sports, and art, beyond being just a bank. As the official sponsor of the Turkish National Olympic Committee, we stood by our athletes during the Paris Olympics. We also support the Istanbul Marathon. By being part of various sports organizations, we do our best to promote sports to wider audiences. I personally enjoy cycling. The pleasure of closing the bridge and riding with safety vehicles and equipment in Istanbul is priceless.”

Samile Mümin, General Manager of Visa Türkiye, emphasized their ongoing support for sports, stating:

“It’s an honor for us to be one of the title sponsors of one of the world’s oldest sports organizations. 2024 has been a sports-filled year for us. We just finished the Olympics and Paralympics. Visa was very active during the Olympics. We have a team we support called Team Visa. We not only provide financial support but also assist athletes with their career development and media communication. After the Olympics, we are excited to support cycling through the Tour de France. We studied the economy created by the Olympics in Paris. During the opening week of the Summer Olympics, the volume of small and medium-sized businesses in Paris increased by 26%, and restaurant spending increased by 36%. On October 20, over 3,000 athletes from more than 50 countries will participate. It’s a large and comprehensive event. I’d like to thank all stakeholders who contributed to bringing this event to Turkey.”

Zeynep Kahraman, Marketing Director of Beyaz Kağıt AŞ, representing Asperox, one of the event sponsors, stated,

“Cycling is an environmentally friendly mode of transportation. We see that it significantly saves fuel. As a market leader with a 62% share, we wholeheartedly support a sport that does not harm the environment and benefits health. We took on the task of cleaning bikes in granfondos. We are happy to actively contribute to a cleaner world by creating our cycling team. We are excited that the world’s largest cycling race is being held in Istanbul.”

Şirin Yurtseven, Marketing Director of MG, drew attention to clean transportation by saying,

“We are part of this organization as the transportation sponsor with our electric vehicles. This way, while highlighting a transportation solution based on clean energy, we will also support cycling. We are pleased to contribute to sustainable transportation.”

Enes Örer, CEO of Oğuz Holding, which is the beverage sponsor, said,

“We are striving to spread the products we produce with local and national capital around the world. We always try to be with sports and athletes with all our brands. We support athletes in need of assistance in our country. We are proud to support with our energy drink brand. We see this as an opportunity to promote our brands worldwide. It’s a pleasure to contribute to the sustainability of cycling.”

Mathieu Clanchin, Project Manager of L’Étape by Tour de France, also shared his views:

“Every year, we travel to 24-25 countries, and we are very happy to be organizing this event for the first time here. I would like to thank our partners.”