“Sportswashing” is taking over the Tour de France

The world is watching the end of the three-week Tour de France cycling race. Oscar Korbosli writes on the Le Monde website that the fossil fuel industry is heavily sponsoring this event. At the end of June, the French oil giant TotalEnergies announced it had signed an official three-year partnership with the Tour de France, starting in 2026. Seven teams competing in the 2025 tour are sponsored by companies or states tied to the production of hydrocarbons. What are your views?

Tour de France: Cycling’s showcase event remains heavily sponsored by fossil fuels

On the winding roads of the Tour de France, the bicycle embodies the ideal of low-impact mobility.

Yet behind the celebration and athletic endeavor, another mechanism is at work: the symbolic reconquering of environmental issues by champions of the fossil fuel industry. At the end of June, the French oil giant TotalEnergies announced it had signed an official three-year partnership with the Tour de France, starting in 2026. The company is also the main sponsor of one of the participating teams, which bears its name.

Within the Tour’s peloton, six other teams (out of 23) are directly or indirectly connected to the fossil fuel industry: UAE Team Emirates-XRG, backed by the United Arab Emirates, one of the world’s leading oil producers; Ineos Grenadiers, named after the British petrochemical giant Ineos and an off road vehicle, the Grenadier, made by its automotive division; Bahrain Victorious, backed by Bahrain, a country whose economy is heavily dependent on oil production; Jayco-AlUla, whose name refers to the Saudi city of Al-Ula that is at the heart of a major tourism initiative by one of the world’s top oil producers; XDS-Astana, funded by a sovereign wealth fund supporting Kazakhstan’s oil and gas company; and Uno-X Mobility, a chain of gas stations present in Norway and Denmark.

Sponsor of the 2023 Rugby World Cup

“There is a problem of alignment and consistency,” said César Dugast, an independent climate consultant. “Cycling can be seen as a symbol of sustainable and environmentally friendly mobility, whereas TotalEnergies’ strategy does not align with the objectives of the Paris Agreement,” aiming to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The oil giant, like other companies, is pursuing a strategy of “sportswashing” by becoming a partner of major sporting events.

Before the Tour de France, TotalEnergies was also an official sponsor of the 2023 Rugby World Cup, hosted in France, to make its image “greener,” said Lorette Philippot, campaign manager for the advocacy group Friends of the Earth. Since 2016, the oil and gas multinational has also been a partner of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) football tournament. “They are trying to create a myth in Africa: that of a company seeking the well-being of the people,” said Philippot. In recent years, TotalEnergies has multiplied fossil fuel extraction projects across the African continent.

When contacted by Le Monde, the multinational, which highlights its wind turbines and solar panels in its advertising campaigns, defended its commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. To this end, it added the plural “Energies” to its old name “Total” to emphasize its efforts toward diversification in renewables, in which it has multiplied its investments. Yet, in 2023, more than 96% of its final energy production still came from oil. Furthermore, “TotalEnergies does not respect the 1.5°C target [set by the Paris Agreement] from the moment it develops new oil fields,” said Dugast.

According to a report by the NGO Greenpeace, published in November 2022, the company emits around 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2, or 4% of global emissions linked to the oil and gas industry. In the name of climate preservation and its environmental commitments, Paris City Hall opposed a partnership between the oil giant and the 2024 Olympic Games. “It’s a rare counter-example,” said Dugast. “But it’s important for sporting events to choose sponsors based on more than just economic criteria.”

‘We’re not perfect’

Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), the company organizing the Tour de France, when contacted by Le Monde, declined to comment on the partnership between the Tour and TotalEnergies. “We’re not perfect,” said Julien Goupil, ASO spokesperson, in a phone interview at the end of June. “Total has always been part of the race.” Cécile Marchand, a fossil fuel expert, said the Tour de France had clearly made “the choice of money.”

Since 2016, Direct Energie, a supplier of electricity and gas that was bought by Total in 2018, has sponsored a cycling team, which is now called TotalEnergies. The French-based team, managed by Jean-René Bernaudeau since 1991, receives between €10 million and €15 million per year from TotalEnergies, through 2026. “If the sponsor disappeared, our team would no longer exist,” said the head of the team, pointing to the presence of Gulf States at the Tour. “During the first months, there were a few criticisms, but now our team has a good image and an excellent reputation with the public.” In 2024, French rider Anthony Turgis claimed the team’s first Tour de France stage win under the TotalEnergies name.

While Bernaudeau does not question his partnership, he says that he could never have partnered with brands he believed endangered his riders’ health, such as Coca-Cola or companies specializing in junk food. Emmanuel Hubert, manager of the Arkéa-B & B Hotels team, who was seeking €20 million to save his team, explained that he “wouldn’t be in a position to be picky” with a sponsor, as he was “not in the best situation.”

“I jump at every opportunity and would like a French company to sign a contract. If TotalEnergies were to contact me, it would work,” Hubert said.

‘Greening their image’

There is little chance Hubert would get a call from the company led by Patrick Pouyanné. TotalEnergies not only owns its own team, but has also signed a partnership agreement to have its name appear on the jersey of the Ineos Grenadiers team. The British petrochemical group acquired the team formerly known as Sky in 2019 and won the Tour de France that year with the Colombian rider Egan Bernal. According to a report published in September 2024 (“Dirty money: How fossil fuel sponsors are polluting sport”), the company led by Jim Ratcliffe provides $54 million per year to the cycling team.

“These companies are buying a bit of ‘warmth’ to green their image,” said Hubert. Dugast lamented that: “We need responsible sponsors whose products and services have their place in a low-carbon world.” Marchand said cyclists, who are affected by climate change, “should oppose these kinds of companies, taking advantage of their status.”

As ASO pointed out, the Tour de France has in recent years pledged to reduce its carbon footprint – 216,000 metric tons of CO2 were emitted in 2021, according to their own assessment, equivalent to 216,000 Paris-New York round-trip flights – by reducing the size of the publicity caravan, in which only hybrid and electric vehicles are now permitted. But at the same time, nearly a third of riders wear jerseys featuring sponsors from the oil industry, leaving a trace of fossil fuels in their wake.

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