Halfords has launched an innovative new marketing campaign as part of its sponsorship of the Tour de France showing the race through an amateur cyclist’s eyes.
Amateur cyclist 29-year-old Dan Francis, who works for a large pharmaceutical company, is filmed cycling through the gruelling mountainous 2,000 mile journey, over three weeks. The video traces his entire journey, including showing him narrowly avoiding an avalanche.
Riding Halfords’ own brand bike - Carrera - the retailer said Francis needed to carry out just one repair, to a punctured tyre.
The 15 minute film called Tour de Francis will be split into 24 clips which will be aired at the beginning and end of ad breaks during live coverage on ITV4 and highlights on ITV2. The full film can be viewed on the retailer’s Facebook page.
Francis said: “I never thought I’d be doing anything like this. I’ve never been up mountains before; didn’t know my legs would take me up there, the stamina I found in my legs that I didn’t know I had and the ability to keep digging and digging. When you’ve got that team car behind you and their egging you on and encouraging you- its just incredible.”
Halfords will be using social networking sites Twitter and Facebook to promote the film when the Tour de France kicks off on Saturday.
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