BRISTOL: Aerospace giant Airbus has been named as one of the sponsors of this year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain, the UK’s most prestigious road cycling event. Airbus will be the supporting the third stage of the event, which will be held in the city of Bristol.
One of the teams, Canyon Eisberg saw its duo Rory Townsend and Louis Rose-Davies join on Wednesday, members of Airbus’ Bicycle User Group (BUG) at its Filton production site, which is just a few miles from where the third stage will start and finish on Tuesday 4 September.
Simon Tomlinson, Head of BUG in Filton, said: “There has been a Bicycle User Group at the Filton site for more than 20 years and we currently have about 900 employees on our group mailing list.
“Airbus is committed to encouraging bicycle use and the Filton site has some of the best facilities for cyclists in the area including 850 covered cycle parking spaces along with dedicated staff changing rooms with showers, lockers, and drying facilities.”
Mark Stewart, Airbus General Manager and HR Director, added: “Typically, we have 400 to 500 employees cycling to work in Filton each day and about 10 per cent of the workforce travels to work by bicycle every day.
“With so many keen cyclists among our staff, it makes sense for Airbus to support Bikes for Work and this prestigious cycling race when it comes to Bristol for stage three.”
As well as organising various cycling events and initiatives, the Airbus BUG also provides staff with free safety accessories, such as hi-viz rucksack covers and waistcoats, free lights and puncture repair kits. A mobile bicycle mechanic visits the site each month to carry out repairs and servicing, while specialist tools are available for staff to borrow to carry out their own repairs at home.
Rose-Davies said: “Thank you to Airbus for their support of Stage Three of this year’s OVO Energy Tour of Britain in Bristol. It was great to see a company that cares about the health and wellbeing of their employees, especially the investment in their on-site cycling facilities.”
Commenting on the news, Heath Harvey, Chief Executive of race organiser SweetSpot, said: “We are delighted that Airbus have chosen to support the Bristol stage of the OVO Energy Tour of Britain. Not only are Airbus a world-leading brand, but also one that passionately supports and encourages their workforce in Bristol to cycle to work.
“We have seen firsthand the facilities in place at the Airbus Filton site for cyclists, which are incredible and the fact that a significant portion of the workforce cycles to work daily is a testament to this. We hope that through our partnership we can reinforce the cycling credentials of Airbus and actively encourage more employees to get on their bike, but also show other companies the benefits from having a healthy and active workforce.”
