A crop of Trek-Segafredo riders headed stateside for some off-season activities, with plenty of fun involved!
As is tradition, several of our athletes flew stateside during the off-season down-time for some ‘working’ visits. Top of the checklist: have an awesome time! Other activities included photoshoots for our brand-new 2022 riding kits, product feedback and development, trike racing and a visit to the Austin Grand Prix to celebrate our upgraded partnership with Pirelli.
First up we had a visit to Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears NFL team, to watch the Bears vs Green Bay Packers game with our hosts SRAM. It was a tense atmosphere – Chicago-based SRAM support the Bears whilst Trek (based in Wisconsin) are Packers fans. Sadly, we had to upset our hosts as the Packers won 24-14. Go Pack!
Next on the agenda was a visit to the SRAM HQ, where equipment used across the gamut of cycling disciplines are developed and tested. Our riders worked with SRAM engineers on product development, as well as meeting the hardworking staff that keep our gears switching. Plus, there were donuts and strong Segafredo coffee to help with the jetlag which had started to kick in.
Our whistle-stop tour continued with a trip to Trek HQ in Waterloo, Wisc. where we had a full schedule. Jasper, Lizzie and co. had an early wake up to play some ice hockey session at the local Wisconsin Hockey Club before plenty of photoshoots for our new 2022 riding kits. The radioactive coral kit is our hi-vis outfit for training at home, and you’ll have to patiently wait to see what the designers at Trek concocted and our partner Santini brought to life. Next, there was more product feedback with the Trek engineers to help make our fast bikes even faster. The finale of our Trek visit was an all-in trike racing tournament, Trike Factory Racing.
Mads Pedersen and Elisa Longo Borghini extended their visit with a trip to the Formula 1 Austin Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas to celebrate the great news of our upgraded partnership with Pirelli, who provide race-winning tires to our Team as well as most Formula 1 teams. After riding a lap of honor aboard their own Trek bikes, Mads and Elisa were welcomed into a supercar to experience a ‘Hot Lap’. Who else is jealous?