Groupama-FDJ cycling team riders sleep “at home” during the Tour de France

For the second consecutive year, TEMPUR is the official supplier to the French professional cycling team Groupama-FDJ. For the 2021 Tour de France, the brand has specially provided each rider on the team with a personalized mattress, branded with their name, specially set up by a dedicated team for the entire duration of the Grande Boucle… allowing them to sleep as if they were “at home”!

Photos: N. Götz / Groupama-FDJ Cycling Team

When the partnership agreement between TEMPUR and the team was signed in 2019, each cyclist on the team received a mattress for their home, adapted to their body shape and personal preferences, to maximize their chances of victory through optimal rest.

This year again, the Groupama-FDJ team riders can enjoy a restorative sleep every night, as if they were sleeping at home. Everyone knows that the Tour is a demanding event for the riders. That’s why it’s essential for them to recover with optimal sleep. Riders change hotels almost every day, and therefore also their bed and comfort. It’s not easy for them to rest.

That’s why the brand supports the team in all races by installing personalized mattresses for the riders in each of their hotels.

Kelly Forzy, the service provider in charge of installing the mattresses on the Tour de France, describes: “Every day, with my colleague Jean-François, we travel from hotel to hotel with a truck in which we store the riders’ various mattresses and pillows. Once we arrive at the day’s hotel, we remove the existing bedding and replace it with TEMPUR equipment personalized to each rider’s needs. The next day, we reload and reinstall the original bedding. Recovery is a fundamental factor in a competition like the Tour de France; our activity is one of the links in the chain that leads to performance.”

The Importance of Recovery

Each rider on the team has the same mattress model at home, adapted to their body shape. Each could choose and test from the three technologies: Original, Sensation, and Cloud.

Valentin Madouas explains: “The quality of sleep is fundamental. We can sleep in any hotel room during the Tour de France, as if we were at home. In fact, each athlete on the team has a mattress at home, with the same characteristics as those we use during the Tour de France. The service provided to the team is an advantage when it comes to taking part in important competitions like stage races.”

As for Doctor Jacky Maillot, Medical Director at Groupama-FDJ, he explains that “In very high-level cycling, recovery management is a key factor. In this recovery, sleep plays a decisive role. We wanted to offer our riders the best possible support. At the end of 2020, the first collaboration with TEMPUR was unequivocal, and the conclusions were very favorable. It’s a real added value for the riders’ recovery to be able to benefit from support, both at home and during races. There is, of course, the quality of the products and the sleeping conditions during races, similar to those at home, which help reduce stress related to falling asleep. I am certain that this partnership will have a positive impact on our performance.”

He concludes that “On the Tour de France, recovery is even more important because we have significantly less time to sleep. The quality of sleep is therefore essential if we want to perform well the next day.”

More info at http://fr.tempur.com/home