In the cycling world, having your product visible on elite professional athletes is an important way to market your brand. The perspective of ‘good enough for them, good enough for me’ seems to be rather effective, and even older riders still look up to their favorite pros as heroes or icons (we all want to be like them!).
Now operating under the ownership of industry giant Shimano, Lazer is pushing hard to put their products on professional heads from all sides of the cycling industry. With hardgood, softgood, component and safety gear brands under the same umbrella, Shimano aims to provide full-factory support to their existing and newly added professional teams.
Across all riding disciplines, Shimano is shooting out more Lazers than an alien invasion – find out who’s new to the program next…
On the road riding side of things, Lazer will be supporting two world teams in 2017. They’ve just added the Netherlands-based LottoNL-Jumbo World Tour professional team to their roster, who recently kicked off their season at the Tour Down Under. Expect to see these riders at the Spring Classics, Grand Tours and World Championship races throughout the season.
Lazer will also continue sponsoring the Belgium based Lotto-Soudal team, entering the sixth year of their collaborative partnership. Lazer says the Lotto-Soudal riders have been instrumental in providing direct feedback for their product development. This year, keep an eye on team rider Adam Hansen (below, left) as he builds up his Grand Tour completion record, which currently stands at 16!
Rally Cycling, who recently announced their professional team roster for 2017, will remain under Lazer’s long-time sponsorship for another year. As for the ladies, Lazer plans to maintain their support of the Giusfredi-Bianchi women’s professional team, and provide sponsorship for the Ale-Cipollini-Galassia women as well.
In the cyclocross world, the Netherlands’ Beobank-Corendon and Belgium’s Steylaerts-Verona teams will both be representing Lazer for 2017. Lazer will also continue as the official helmet and eyewear supplier for the Belgian National Cycling Federation, which supports riders competing in road, track, CX, MTB, BMX and trials disciplines.
Venturing further into the rough, Lazer has secured a new deal to support KHS Factory Racing’s downhill/MTB team riders. Expect to see the KHS team wearing the Revolution enduro lid, MX7 full-face, and other MTB helmets at this year’s races.
If all that wasn’t enough, Lazer’s further sponsorships include the Radon XC MTB team, the ITZU Triathlon racing team, triathlete Jim Thijs and trials rider Kenny Belaey.
