De Boer provides tents for start Tour de France in London

Expertise and equipment from De Boer’s UK, French and Dutch offices came together in London as the company rose to the challenge of the spectacular Tour de France.

The temporary structure specialist was called on to supply a range of hospitality facilities in central London on the weekend of July 7 and 8 as the Tour made a rare appearance on British soil.

As the world’s greatest cyclists battled for honours in front of tens of thousands of cheering spectators, De Boer’s structures were in place in high-profile locations including The Mall and Horse Guards Parade and alongside the Albert Memorial.

The company provided a team of around 20 personnel from its various European offices to erect items such as A-frame and Pyramid structures and a double-decker Ambassador structure. De Boer also sourced and arranged a covered seating area for spectators.

Antoine Lamerant, who supervised the assignment on behalf of De Boer’s French office, said: “With the international nature of the Tour, it was particularly fitting that De Boer called on the expertise of its different European operations.”

He added: “The entire De Boer team worked together superbly during both the build and dismantling processes.”

The majority of structures were transported from De Boer’s UK headquarters at Brackley, Northamptonshire, with additional equipment shipped in from the Netherlands. Antoine, who is based in the company’s offices at Chartres near Paris, worked with staff from the UK and France during the four-day build to ensure that the structures were in place ahead of the race.

Despite its name, the Tour de France has successfully expanded to include stages in other European countries. London was selected to host the 2007 ‘Prologue’, a fast and furious time trial that heralded the start of this year’s 22-day competition.

Riders were challenged to race against the clock on a 7.9km circuit that passed famous London landmarks including Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Hyde Park Corner.

Following the thrilling time trial in London, riders moved out of the capital as the race took them from The Mall and into the Kent countryside.

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