Two British companies, Endura (clothing) and Drag2Zero (aerodynamics), have combined their expertise to produce a range of aerodynamic clothing for WorldTour team Movistar.
While Endura's sponsorship of Movistar was publicly announced in September 2013, the partnership between Endura and Drag2Zero was already well established by that stage. The two companies worked to prototype and wind tunnel test clothing ready for the 2014 racing season. The primary focus was on skinsuits and overshoes.
The two companies plan to take this collaboration further and offer aero clothing for amateur riders too, which will be branded Endura-Drag2Zero.
Darg2Zero's technical director Simon Smart said: "We have been looking at the gains to be made in cycle clothing for a number of years now and have seen in the wind tunnel how using the right fabrics and cut can see big improvements in performance. Teaming up with Endura is really exciting for us. They have a fantastic production facility here in the UK which means that between us we have everything we need close by to develop things quickly. Endura also share our goal of developing products through necessity and giving cyclists what they need."
Endura's MD Jim McFarlane commented: "We’re very excited at formalising our collaboration with Drag2Zero; Simon is recognised internationally as the leading authority on aerodynamics in cycling and the facility at Brackley is arguably the best in the world ... The pairing of the Brackley cycle wind tunnel facility and Simon’s skills and experience in aero with Endura’s in-house ability to prototype and develop product rapidly in response to each set of test results puts us in a really strong position for aero product development."
