When the cyclists are challenging high peaks such as the Stelvio, Mont Ventoux or the Aubisque, they are followed by fans, media, tourists and recreational bikers which increases the footprint of the events. This footprint can be reduced by several sustainable implementations of which some were already implemented during the start of the Tour de France in Rotterdam this year.

For instance there was special attention for sustainable mobility and green energy. By stimulating public transport and providing parking facilities for bikes, the organization tried to promote the use of  sustainable transportation. Besides that, the organization used biological products and also focused on waste management.

Besides the ecological aspect, the social aspect is also important for the cycling events. The Boss himself started the Livestrong initiative against cancer to use cycling for a social and sustainable goal. Besides that, there are several other initiatives where cycling is used to promote social goals. The Duchenne Heroes are biking through the Netherlands and Belgium to collect money for patients with the Duchenne disease and participants of the Tour for Life are cycling through entire Europe to collect money for the NGO ‘Artsen zonder Grenzen’. The Belgium company Telenet is also very committed with cycling. Employees of Telenet are organizing every year the Vélo Afrique tour in Senegal to collect money for the support of several project in the African country.

Finch & Beak is asked to give advice on sustainable implementations for the Telenet MTB Tours in order to make the cycling events more sustainable in the future. Sustainability and cycling is indeed a strong connection. Or as Dutch sports analyst Mart Smeets is always saying: “Mag ik dat zeggen? Ja dat mag ik zeggen!”

For more information on sustainable (cycling)events, please contact us at hello@finchandbeak.com for more information.