Axalta Coats Monument to Winners of the Tour de France
MONTBRISON, France – Coatings manufacturer Axalta Coating Systems has provided the coating for an impressive monument erected by the town of Pau, France, to honor the Tour de France and its history. Pau, the capital of Béarn on the northern edge of the Pyrenees, has been a stage town of the Tour a staggering 66 times. This year will mark its 67th time as a key stage of the Tour.
The impressive and permanent monument has been built in the heart of the city, in the Bois-Louis park. It comprises 104 two-meter high totems laid out in concentric circles, reminiscent of the historic Stonehenge monument in Wiltshire, England. Three of the totems are made of bronze and are uncoated – the presentation piece and a pair dedicated to the two World Wars – while the other one hundred and one totems have been cast from aluminium and glass and are dedicated to the winners of the Tour. To reproduce the legendary yellow jersey of the champions, the totems have been painted with Alesta® powder coating RAL 1018 Zinc Yellow, “the yellow of cheerfulness, the yellow of victory,” according to François Bayrou, the Mayor of Pau.