For years, we’ve made some of the raddest custom helmets around for our teams and riders. Some would say they’re the wildest custom helmets seen in professional sport, and that they’re an iconic feature of any downhill series - but they’ve never featured in the pro peloton. Well, all that is set to change!
As part of our EF Education-NIPPO team partnership, we’ve designed some truly epic helmets for the team to wear at three of the toughest and most infamous races on the calendar – Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) on April 4th, the Amstel Gold on April 18th & the soon to be rescheduled Paris-Roubaix.
We worked with the team’s helmet partner, POC, to create a truly unique set of designs for a very special cause. Each helmet pays tribute to the incredible, selfless work done throughout the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, with the designs featuring names of key workers nominated by the team. It serves to show and recognise their gratitude for all essential workers across the globe.
It’s the stories from the team that have really inspired us. Like American National Champion, Alex Howes, nominating a local group called Nederland, who worked with a community centre to help deliver essential items to vulnerable groups of people living in difficult to reach areas of the mountain where he lives. Or team Soigneur John Murray nominating his granddaughter, who worked on a COVID-19 ward in north Yorkshire, providing round the clock care for patients in extremely tough conditions. These are just a few examples of the names that will feature on the new custom lids; you can hear about more heroes and the development story behind these soon-to-be-iconic helmets, in a short film which will launch over the next couple of weeks.
As you may remember, this isn’t our first Coronavirus initiative. As part of our ‘Protect and Serve’ campaign we’ve been donating 10% of all profits made from our new Antibacterial range to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund. This is in addition to our support of hospitals, where we supply Sanitisers and Antibacterial Chamois Cream. To generate further support for this vital charity, we will be raffling off three of these custom helmets, that have been worn by different members of the team (complete with cobble dust), with the proceeds going, again, to the WHO. Details of how to enter the raffle will be released on our social channels ahead of the Amstel Gold, so keep your eyes peeled!
Be sure to look out for the epic key-worker-inspired helmets taking on the toughest cycling stages on the planet. Fingers crossed they’re leading the way, but if not, they’ll still be looking rad for an incredible cause.
Photo Credits: Jered & Ashley Gruber | Gruber Images
