Strategy: Specialized opened a cool pop-up store in Düsseldorf to launch its new bike at the Tour de France

Specialized, a leading American cycling brand, opened a pop-up store at the Tour de France on Friday to launch its newest high-end road bike, the Tarmac.

DÜSSELDORF, Germany — Specialized, a leading American cycling brand, opened a pop-up store at the Tour de France on Friday to launch its newest high-end road bike, the Tarmac.

There was a DJ, hors d'oeuvres and bubbly, and plenty of bikes and gear, all helping to set the stage, and the mood, for the world's biggest bicycle race.

Check out the photos below.

Specialized sent out invites ahead of the Tour ...

We arrived when the pop-up store opened at 6:30 ... a day before the Tour ...

There was a sweet Peugeot 404 out front ...

And some bikes on top!

And now a message from Specialized ...

Champagne!

There was delicious food ...

In addition to the launch of the Tarmac, there were other bikes about, including this fast-looking Venge with disc brakes ...

Specialized has won a lot of races, and it sponsors big-name riders, including Peter Sagan, right, one of the best cyclists of all time ...

Kevin Costner rode a Specialized Allez in "American Flyers" ... a classic ...

Flashback! Mario Cipollini, the legendary Italian sprinter, won Milan-Sanremo on a Specialized ...

Spartacus! Swiss legend Fabian Cancellara rode an all-yellow Specialized when he led the Tour ...

Chris Yu, left, an aero guru at Specialized, talked to an engaged audience about the new Tarmac ...

Charts! Specialized compared its Tarmac to rival Trek's Émonda and Cannondale's SuperSix EVO ...

Specialized says its Tarmac is a better all-around bike than its competitors ...

This is the core team of engineers and designers on the Tarmac project ...

A DJ kept the crowd entertained ...

The Tarmac! It's a good-looking bike ... and journalists had a chance to get up close ...

Katie Sue Gruener, right, the global PR manager for Specialized, flew in from Specialized HQ in California for the Tarmac launch ...

Patrick Lefevere was there ... a big name in European pro cycling, the Belgian is the manager of the Quick-Step Floors cycling team ... with the team's PR assistant Stephanie Clerckx ...

Specialized founder and CEO Mike Sinyard ...

This year's Tour starts in Düsseldorf and finishes in Paris ...

People got to take pics with the new Tarmac ...

Specialized honored the many different countries and nationalities that make up the Tour and pro cycling generally ... and it put on a fun event ...

Now check out the other big bike launch this week — Trek's new Émonda SLR 9 >>

posted by ConnectMe