Swedish sports safety apparel company POC has signed an agreement to provide eyewear to the Team Garmin-Sharp professional cycling squad.
From the beginning of 2014, POC became the official helmet and eyewear supplier of Team Garmin-Sharp, the American professional cycling team which is managed by Slipstream sports and was recently sponsored by Transitions.
Riders on the Garmin squad will choose from a number of different frames, including DID’s and the soon-to-be-released DO Blades. POC has developed the DO Blade in collaboration with Garmin-Sharp’s Ryder Hesjedal, and Olympic TT Silver medallist Gustav Larsson.
POC will provide helmets and eyewear along with additional products with specifically engineered properties to serve specific needs, depending on discipline and circumstances.
POC is just about to release AVIP, its first road bike specific range including helmets, apparel, eyewear and accessories. AVIP stands for Attention, Visibility, Interaction and Protection and is POC’s most ambitious initiative to date, promoting safety for road cyclists.
The blue of the DO Blade is called “Garminum Blue,” and will be used for competition. Since visibility is a key factor to road bike safety and to support the idea behind AVIP, the highly visible orange version of the Octal helmet will be the first choice for team Garmin-Sharp when training.
Starting with Australian National Championships in January, team Garmin-Sharp will be wearing POC helmets and eyewear around the world, from the Tour Down Under to The Tour de France to Liege-Baston-Liege.
'We pride ourselves in working with best-in-class partners to develop equipment that helps our riders perform at their best. POC is another great example of a superior partnership and we are thrilled to add them to the Slipstream family', says Jonathan Vaughters, CEO, Slipstream Sports and Team Garmin-Sharp.
