If you were lucky enough to have beared witness to a glimpse of the Tour de France past through the country this week, you will surely known that the country seems to be in the grip of cycle frenzy at the moment. Now one designer, who is totally known for his great passion for peddle power is none other than the great Sir Paul Smith.
By special invitation from the British Government, Paul Smith has designed three posters to mark the cultural importance of the Tour de France and its arrival in the UK. With the design taking inspiration from the three UK stages of the tour, the posters celebrate the momentous occasion. One reflects Saturday 5th July, the first day of theTour and when the athletes will cycle 190km from Leeds to Harrogate through the Yorkshire Dales. The second, in green, is Sunday 6th July when they’ll cut a dash over the Peak District from York to Sheffield. The third, bright blue poster accompanies the final stage in the Tour’s visit to the UK when the peloton will race 155km from Cambridge to London ending onThe Mall. After which theTour will continue in France.
Limited edition, signed versions of each of the three posters are available to win by those who post images of themselves with their bicycles using #takenwithmybike on Instagram andTwitter.Winners will be selected at random. Get involved!
No one could accuse Sir Paul of resting on his laurels as he has just teamed up with MRPORTER.COM to launch Paul Smith 531, an exclusive range of specialist cycling outerwear and accessories.
Bringing together Paul Smith’s passion for cycling and the latest developments in technical fabrications, the 11 piece collection features lightweight jackets, cycling essential accessories and an all-black racing bike designed for city cycling.
The Paul Smith 531 range is named after the famous Reynolds lightweight bike tubing used by Tour de France champions. The number refers to the ratio of manganese (5), molybdenum (3) and carbon (1) in the steel alloy. Built in collaboration with Mercian Cycles, a British bespoke bicycle retailer, the bike forms the centrepiece of Paul Smith 531 adding to the MR PORTER sports category.
Take a look at Sir Paul Smith talk us through how he came up with the idea in a short film below.
