TORONTO, Ontario (BRAIN)—Cervélo will debut a new travel division next year through a collaboration with luxury cycling tour operator Butterfield & Robinson.
The Cervélo Pro Travel Experience will offer more than a dozen tours coinciding with European races such as the Spring Classics, the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France where Team Garmin-Cervélo will compete in 2012. North American events include the Tour of California and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge. Other itineraries include the French Alps, the Pyrénées and the Cols of Provence.
Trips will range in cost from $3,495 to $4,995 and run five, six or seven nights. Riders will be outfitted with a Cervélo kit by Castelli and a custom-fitted Cervélo R3 Team bike for the trip, as well as have the opportunity to test ride the Cervélo R5.
This isn’t Cervélo’s first run at adding a travel component to its business. The Canadian brand ran trips under the Cervélo TestTeam Travel name in 2009 and 2010 to showcase its professional team. The company handled those trips on its own with some success. This time it’s tapped Butterfield & Robinson to handle the logistics including meals, lodging and tour leadership.
By investing in a travel division, Cervélo isn’t necessarily looking for an immediate boost to its bottom line, but hopes to sell more bikes in the long run, said Mark Riedy who handles PR for Cervélo.
“This iteration of the program is not about making a profit,” Riedy noted, “it’s about helping our brand and helping our dealers by getting more people on the best bikes on the world’s greatest roads. My feeling is that people who are already Cervélo enthusiasts are the most likely people to come on a trip. They’ll likely bring a spouse or a friend and maybe Cervélo will make some converts that way.”
Cervélo will offer dealers incentives to sell trips, Riedy added, and will organize special trips for retailers if they can provide enough riders to fill the manifest.
Trek, Giant and Orbea have also branched into travel in recent years to complement their businesses.
For more information, visit travel.cervelo.com.
—Nicole Formosa
nformosa@bicycleretailer.com
