Canon en route with The Tour of Britain
 

In a year in which Great Britain has once again proved itself a world leader in the sport of cycling, leading imaging and information technology solutions company, Canon, has announced that for the fifth consecutive year it will be the official imaging partner for The Tour of Britain, which will begin on 7th September.

Canon is the longest running commercial sponsor of the race, having supported The Tour of Britain every year since its resurrection in 2004. The company is again supplying a range of high-end print and imaging equipment that the race has come to rely on in the delivery of its results service. This year’s Tour of Britain is the longest yet, taking place over eight stages, an increase of one day over the 2007 race. Beginning with the opening stage in the centre of London on 7th September, The Tour then progresses via the South East, Somerset, the West Midlands, Yorkshire, the North East and Scotland, before finishing in Liverpool on Sunday 14th September. Cutting edge The addition of a new stage in the North East will put the tour in front of more of the British public, hot on the heels of the Beijing Olympics, where Great Britain is widely expected to top the cycling medal table. For the second year running Michelle Rudd will be the official Tour of Britain photographer, and she’ll be provided with state of the art digital imaging products from Canon, which will ensure high performance and cutting edge photography of the riders and event for syndication to the media and display in the Canon gallery. Michelle became part of the race in 2006 after winning the Canon sponsored Photography competition, going on to become a member of Tour of Britain staff in 2007.   The Canon Gallery will also return in the build-up to the race, a popular and integral part of The Tour of Britain website, where the public can catch up with the photos of the latest action from the race. The Canon Photography Competition will also return for a third successive year, giving spectators to the race the chance to follow in the footsteps of Michelle and the opportunity to win Canon digital imaging equipment, by taking the winning image of the 2008 race. Encourage Commentating on the continuing relationship with The Tour of Britain, Andy Vickers, Managing Director, Canon UK and Ireland, said “Canon has been involved with supporting British and European sporting events for over thirty years and we are delighted to continue our support for The Tour of Britain as one of the top events in the cycling calendar. Not only does British Cycling's' success encourage people to get on their bikes to keep fit - it also inspires individuals to do more for the environment and it is a perfect fit with Canon’s corporate philosophy of ‘Kyosei’ – living and working together for the common good". Service Hugh Roberts, CEO of The Tour of Britain, added: “I am delighted that Canon has decided to continue its support for The Tour of Britain, making them our longest standing commercial partner. "This relationship enables us to maintain the highest standards in imaging and document reproduction at the race this year. Canon provides a level of service and reliability to the race that money cannot buy and their support is highly valued by all the members of the race organisation.”