Chris Froome, Team Sky and Jaguar: 'Cycling Under The Sea'

Tour de France 2013 winner Chris Froome is the first person to cycle from the United Kingdom to France under the sea.

As the world’s leading professional cyclists depart the UK after three days of enthralling  Tour de France action, Jaguar has released a short film titled “Team Sky – Cycling Under The Sea,” which documents the Team Sky leader riding from the Eurotunnel Terminal in Folkestone on England’s south-east coast, to Calais in France.

Froome rode through the tunnel at a training-pace, completing the world first ride in a time of approximately 55 minutes and reached speeds of up to 65 kilometres per hour.

This groundbreaking marketing initiative follows the recent launch of the Pinarello Dogma F8 at Jaguar Land Rover’s base in Gaydon, and further demonstrates Jaguar and Team Sky’s partnership and brand campaign ‘#KeepPushing.

Jaguar and Team Sky began discussions over six months ago with Eurotunnel, who are celebrating its twentieth year in 2014, to make the cycling challenge possible. The service tunnel is one of the highest security sites in the UK and France.

Reflecting on his ‘World First’ ride, Chris Froome said: “Cycling under the sea was an incredible experience.Opportunities to become the first person in the world to achieve these kind of feats are extremely rare nowadays, especially as a pro-cyclist. To become the first person ever to cycle through the Eurotunnel was right up there with some of the most iconic rides I’ve ever done - this must have been one of very few ‘world first’ rides left!”

JLR Global Brand Experience Director, Mark Cameron added: “One of our core beliefs at Jaguar is themed around ‘Keep Pushing’ – for new technology, experiences, goals and achievements. This is perhaps the ultimate expression of this philosophy, completing a feat that no one has ever done before or is likely to repeat. We’re delighted for Chris to have had this opportunity, and I’d like to echo his thanks to both Team Sky and all at Eurotunnel who made it possible.”

John Keefe, Head of Public Affairs at Eurotunnel, was impressed with the results, also commenting: “The Eurotunnel is an incredible, unique piece of engineering on par with the Golden Gate Bridge or Sydney Opera House. The problem of course, is that no one gets to see it, so we were delighted when Jaguar Land Rover came to us with this ground-breaking request!”

As an official supplier to Team Sky since its inception in 2010, Jaguar has been proud to support the team’s back-to-back victorious campaigns in 2012 and 2013, where the British engineering leaders supplied Team Sky with a fleet of all-new high performance Jaguar XF Sportbrakes.