By Jos Dyer, 2 years ago
PEARL iZUMi have today been appointed the official technical clothing partner of the Tour of Britain, Women’s Tour and Tour Series, the UK’s leading cycle events, for 2021.
Founded in 1950, PEARL iZUMi has used cutting edge technology and a passion for cycling to craft market-leading jerseys, outerwear, essentials and footwear for athletes on two wheels for over 65 years.
This partnership with SweetSpot, organiser of both races, will see PEARL iZUMi making the much-coveted leaders’ jerseys for the Tour of Britain, Women’s Tour and Tour Series. COVID-19 prevention – including face masks – will also be provided.
PEARL iZUMi has a historic link to SweetSpot’s acclaimed events, having been the title sponsor of the Tour Series between 2013 and 2016.
PEARL iZUMi has been a brand at the forefront of cycling for many years and has a reputation for manufacturing high quality cycling apparel across all disciplines, particularly road cycling. The cutting-edge technology used within PEARL iZUMi products and the racing pedigree of the brand makes it an obvious fit for the Tour of Britain, Women’s Tour and Tour Series. It is also on a mission to make 90% of its product line-up from recycled, renewable or organic material by 2022.
Betty Moseley, strategic partnerships manager at SweetSpot, said: “We are excited to welcome PEARL iZUMi back into our partner family. They were a driving force in our Tour Series events and we know they will bring innovation in design and fabrics to our much-coveted race jerseys. We’re also very much looking forward to giving everyone the chance to own a replica race jersey, as well as welcoming racing back to the roads of Britain.”
Kellie Parsons, marketing director at Madison, said: “It is great to once again be partnering up PEARL iZUMi with the Tour Series as well as adding the Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour. PEARL iZUMi cycling apparel really is market-leading, so it makes perfect sense for us to get the brand in front of racing fans with a high level of technical knowledge. After such a turbulent time, we cannot wait to get stuck back into some bike racing.”
ŠKODA will continue as partners of the mountains classification and jersey in the Tour of Britain and Women’s Tour, while SweetSpot are looking for new partners for both the prestigious points and sprints jerseys in the two events.
This year’s Tour of Britain (Sunday 5 – Sunday 12 September) will take over 100 of the world’s best riders from Cornwall to Aberdeen. Both Wales and Scotland will host two stages of the event, while seven of the 12 start and finish venues announced to date – Penzance, Bodmin, Sherford, Warrington, Hawick, Stonehaven and Aberdeen – are new to the event.
Rescheduled for October owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the seventh edition of the Women’s Tour will feature the race’s first-ever individual time trial, to be held in Atherstone, Warwickshire. The race, which forms a part of the prestigious UCI Women’s WorldTour, will also visit Oxfordshire and Walsall, before concluding in Felixstowe, Suffolk after two stages in the East of England.
Alongside British Cycling, both of this year’s races will also honour and celebrate the often unnoticed and underappreciated work of key workers and community champions since March 2020 at each stage start and finish venue through the Ride for Heroes.
SweetSpot are calling on the wider cycling community to nominate these unsung heroes via the event websites at tourofbritain.co.uk/ride-for-heroes and womenstour.co.uk/ride-for-heroes