Join the virtual race with T-Online's big Tour de France competition - New website (www.team-telekom.de) offers even more information - Follow the race live on your WAP phone The 88th Tour de France starts on 7 July and to mark the occasion of this legendary road race, Deutsche Telekom has put together a bumper communications package. At its centre is the T-Online Tour de France, which for the first time allows all cycling fans to join in the race online and maybe even ride away with a prize.
Cycling enthusiasts can register for the online race right away at www.team-telekom.de, the official Team Telekom website on T-Online. As with the real race " the most difficult in the cycling calendar " the competition begins on 7 July 2001.
From the prologue in Dunkirk to the 20th stage and traditional finishing line on the Champs-Elyseés, the competition offers players different levels of difficulty and the chance to triumph in one of the stages or win one of the leaders- jerseys. This means fans are able to experience the highs and lows of the professionals, even if in their case, they "pedal" with their fingers on two keys of the keyboard.
There are over 2,100 prizes in total: the winners of the four main categories " yellow, green and polka-dotted jerseys, plus the best team classification " will receive dream prizes of cycling trips with Team Telekom.
The official website (www.team-telekom.de) is offering extended coverage of the Tour de France, the centrepiece of which is the Live-Ticker, presented in co-operation with television channel ARD, another Team Telekom sponsor. This will keep fans right up to date from the start of the race to the finish.
The extensive reporting coverage of the Tour de France is backed up by a wide range of multimedia products and services: for example audio files, background stories and video portraits of the Telekom riders as well as up to the minute offers in the Fanshop. Fans can also chat to each other and visit forums in the MyTe@m online community, as well as pick up bargains on the second hand market.
The Team Telekom WAP programme will bring the Tour de France live to your mobile phone. Wherever you are, the WAP Live-Ticker ensures you won't miss a single finish. Deutsche Telekom has also introduced a new service for the media: journalists can subscribe for free to the Team Telekom e-mail newsletter during the Tour de France.