LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI 2012 : PROTON jadi tuan rumah pemulaan peringkat ke-6

PROTON Centre of Excellence di Shah Alam hari ini menjadi tuan rumah permulaan peringkat ke-6 perlumbaan basikal LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI 2012. Cabaran yang paling getir hari ini ialah pendakian puncak Genting Highlands dengan jarak keseluruhan sejauh 108km.

PROTON telah menjadi penaja utama acara tahunan ini sejak ia bermula pada 1996 dan ini merupakan kali ke-3, PROTON menjadi tuan rumah acara permulaan selain Jersi Biru Raja Pecut. PROTON juga menaja kenderaan, bantuan teknikal, penyelenggaraan kenderaan, tenaga kerja dan juga pemberian cenderahati di setiap lokasi perlumbaan. Selain itu juga kenderaan PROTON menjadi kenderaan calvacade yang akan mengetuai rombongan LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI.

PROTON HOSTS START OF STAGE 6 OF LE TOUR DE LANGKAWI 2012

SUBANG JAYA, 29 February 2012 – Cycling’s elite competing in the 17th edition of the Le Tour de Langkawi Starts Stage 6 of the prestigious race at the PROTON Centre of Excellence in Shah Alam today and what awaits them is a challenging 108km charge to the peak of Genting Highlands.

 Le Tour de Langkawi 2012 has attracted a total of 122 cyclists representing 22 local and top international professional teams who are competing in a gruelling 1,414km stretched over 10 days.

As a long-time sponsor of the tour since it was first held in 1996, this is the third time the event has been flagged off from the PROTON Headquarters. As in previous years, this year’s sponsorship of the tour involves a fleet of vehicles, as well as in terms of technical support, maintenance, manpower and merchandise giveaways. PROTON is also spearheading the cavalcade which is a procession of vehicles that proceeds ahead of the main peloton as it races through the country.

This is also the third consecutive year PROTON is sponsoring the coveted Blue Jersey which will be worn by the Sprint Champion of every stage, as well as the tour’s overall Sprint Champion.

Meanwhile, in conjunction with the prestigious tour, PROTON had also, prior to the start of this morning’s Stage 6, organised Le Tour de PROTON, a short race for cycling enthusiasts within the company to promote healthier living. 200 PROTON staff, including members of the Group’s senior management, will be taking part in this race, which will begin at the PROTON Plant in Shah Alam and will end at PROTON Centre of Excellence before joining the main peloton as they begin Stage 6.

“Beyond the realm of racing, Le Tour de Langkawi has more importantly become a powerful, impactful and successful branding exercise for the country, in which it has not only contributed in terms of driving up inbound tourism but has significantly elevated Malaysia’s status internationally,” said PROTON’s Group Managing Director, Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

“Branding is also a key objective we at PROTON hope to fulfill in our support and sponsorship of the Le Tour de Langkawi. It provides us with a fantastic opportunity to showcase our range of vehicles not only to the local audience, but also the international riders, teams, officials and television viewers who follow the race.”

“And after being involved with LTDL for 17 years, it has become something that all PROTONians look forward to every year. This year, to celebrate our long-standing involvement with LTDL, and to create excitement amongst PROTONians, we are doing something new called Le Tour de PROTON for the very first time.

It is more than a cycling activity to promote health, but we also see it as a different approach to strengthen the relationship between PROTON senior management and staff. And I’m happy to say that the response was very encouraging, so it was a shame that we had to limit entrants to 200. We certainly look forward to doing this next year too,” added Dato’ Sri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin.

Le Tour de Langkawi was flagged off with 20.3km individual time trial around Putrajaya on 24 February 2012 and will end on 4 March 2012 in Kuala Terengganu.