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Endura Prepares the Movistar Team to Succeed at the Tour de France

Nairo Quintana during the Endura fitting last November at team camp.
Nairo Quintana during the Endura fitting last November at team camp.

With the 2015 edition of Tour de France set to start this weekends, fans have been flooded with articles on the new race bikes we will see our favorite teams on this year. We haven’t heard too much about new kits, but Endura is giving fans an inside look on how they prepared the Movistar Team for this year’s race. With the up and coming star Nairo Qunitana set to battle the other contenders, Endura is set to provide the same support to the team as they did for Alex Dowsett in his record setting hour attempt earlier this year.

Campionato Italiano Cronometro 2015 - Bogogno - Bogogno 36,3 km - 24/06/2015 - Adriano Malori (Movistar) - foto Dario Belingheri/BettiniPhoto©2015
Campionato Italiano Cronometro 2015 – Bogogno – Bogogno 36,3 km – 24/06/2015 – Adriano Malori (Movistar) – foto Dario Belingheri/BettiniPhoto©2015

Stage one of this year’s tour starts off with a time trial in Utrecht, The Netherlands, and the team will be equipped with one of the fastest kits available. Endura continued to work with Simon Smart of Drag2Zero in developing the team’s Chronosuits, with extensive testing at the Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 wind tunnel. Using some of the fastest materials and state of the art production techniques, the collaboration aims to save the Movistar riders precious watts and time throughout the race, but especially during the time trials.  These gains in performance have already provided results through national time trial wins in Spain, Italy ad the United Kingdom, along with breaking the UCI Hour Record, Grand Tour stage wins, and winning the 2014 Commonwealth Games Time Trial in Glasgow.

Freccia Vallone 2015 - Waremme - Huy 205,5 km - 22/04/2015 - Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) - foto Photonews/BettiniPhoto©2015
Freccia Vallone 2015 – Waremme – Huy 205,5 km – 22/04/2015 – Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) – foto Photonews/BettiniPhoto©2015

Along with gains in the time trials, Endura has made great strides in keeping their riders cool. In 2012, they were the first brand to use coldblack® technology in team kits that featured sublimation print. Earlier this year, Endura launched their F260-Pro SL summer jersey to help their athletes gain an edge during hot races and climbing up mountain passes. Three time Olympian Oil Beckinsale tested the new jersey in the University of Kent’s Climate Chamber to be able to back up Endura’s theory’s and now claims about how well the F260-Pro SL jersey cools riders.

Movistar Team, including tour favorite Nairo Quintana, being fit for team kit by Endura.
Movistar Team, including tour favorite Nairo Quintana, being fit for team kit by Endura.

Along with an optimized jersey, Endura has worked to ensure the riders are comfortable during long days in the saddle. In another partnership, the brand worked with fit specialists gebioMized to create an optimized chamois for riders of all shapes and sizes. During their team camp in November of 2014, the Movistar Team were 3D mapped using a saddle cover filled with sensors to measure the pressure exerted throughout the pedals stroke. Riders were mapped in three different positions, on the tops, the hoods, and the drops, and that information was used to determine the optimal bibshort pad. The data collected led to the 700-series pad featured in the F260-Pro SL bibshorts, and is available in three different sizes, narrow, medium, and wide. The pad has a smooth, unbroken profile, and uses Endura’s Continuously Variable Profile (CVP) technology to provide support where it is needed, while removing additional material where it is not. This helps to minimizing bunching, reduce friction, and maximize  moisture transfer and flexibility. The shape minimizes pressure points they found through testing and development with the Movistar Team to offer all day comfort.

To see more of how this year’s Movistar Team kit by Endura was prepared for the Tour, check out the video below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zBRANYMGl8

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