JULIE BLANC & THE 2009 TOUR DE FRANCE PODIUM GIRLS
The 2009 Tour de France comes to a close this weekend. Unfortunately, it’s not looking like Lance is gonna pull this one out. He’s riding for Team Astana along with race leader Alberto Contador. If you didn’t know, Astana is a sponsored by Astana group, a coalition of state-owned companies from Kazakhstan. Alberto Contador currently owns the maillot jaune (yellow jersey) as the overall leader and he’s also had the dotted “King of the Mountain” jersey once. Below is an explanation of the jersey classifications from Wikipedia:
General classification Maillot jaune |
Points classification Maillot vert |
Mountains classification Maillot à pois |
Young rider classification Maillot blanc |
Team classification Classement par équipe |
Combativity award Prix de combativité |
|---|
It turns out that each jersey in the race has a corporate sponsor. Luckily for you, the sponsors employ beautiful women to present the jersey along with water, flowers, (awkward) kisses, and a stuffed lion for Contador. In the case of Carrefour girls (pictured below), they also get outfits designed by Agatha Ruiz de la Prada. There’s an American among he podium girls or “Hôtesses” in French and her name is Laura Antoine. She’s been featured in a couple of video interviews recently (Sporza, Versus). However, our favorite podium girl is Julie Blanc of Carrefour.
Yellow means "You're Effing Awesome"
MEET JULIE BLANC, HOTESSE EXTRAORDINAIRE
Witness the beauty of Julie Blanc. She represents Carrefour as a hôtesse in the polka-dress. You wouldn’t guess it by looking at her, but Carrefour is basically a Wal-Mart. She’s 21 years old and I suspect that she’s French. She’s set to be on the French game show Fort Boyard which is pretty much the same thing as Fear Factor. Julie will star alongside a former cyclist, former boxer, a rugby player, and another model (Jessica Sow). I scrounged dem Internets and figured out that Julie is represented by Conmia Model Management. Below are pictures of her rocking polka dots and her portfolio. Don’t blame me for the smallness of pictures.
She's real perty
2009 TOUR DE FRANCE PODIUM GIRLS
If you’re not into blondes, there are a handful of other corporations that have employed beautiful women to generate exposure. The other companies giving out fashionable cycling jerseys are: LCL (French bank), Vittel (French water), PMU (horse racing company?), Brandt (zweiback and chocolate producer), and Skoda (subsidiary of Volkswagen). Below you will find images of the 2009 Tour de France podium girls and 60+ more pictures of the festivities.
LCL
VITTEL
CARREFOUR
PMU
SKODA
BRANDT
ACTION SHOTS
-
Alberto Contador is known for his cycling skills, not his boxing abilities -- yet that didn't... Read Full Story » -
USA TODAY Andy Schleck won't claim Tour title in wake of Contador ban USA TODAY By Tom Weir, USA... Read Full Story » -
Los Angeles Times Alberto Contador loses 2010 Tour de France title Los Angeles Times The Court... Read Full Story » -
CTV.ca CAS found Alberto Contador guilty of doping during the 2010 Tour de France CNN 2010 Tour... Read Full Story » -
CBSSports.com Court strips Contador of 2010 Tour de France title CBSSports.com GENEVA -- Three... Read Full Story »
