Trek-Segafredo paid a visit to DVC Heilig Hart to offer support and help raise safety and visibility for its residents
Last week, on the way to recon the parcours of Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, the Trek-Segafredo riders paid a visit to DVC Heilig Hart, a home for children and adults with intellectual disabilities located a few hundred meters from the team’s service course in Deinze, Belgium.
DVC Heilig Hart provides shelter and support to children and adults with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities and currently offers care to approximately 175 children and 200 adults.
Luc Meersman, Director for Trek-Segafredo:
Looking through the windows of our service course, we often see residents of DVC Heilig Hart passing by on bikes or foot. Rain or shine, they go outside to get a breath of fresh air and to move. I admire that a lot, so we wanted to offer them something to show our support of this.
For Trek-Segafredo, safety is the number one priority, and the team presented Bontrager cycling helmets and lights to assist the safety and visibility of the DVC residents and caretakers while going out on the public roads.
“We also noticed that they were not always super visible,” added Freddie Stouffer, Operations Manager at Trek-Segafredo. “As a team, we invest a lot in safety and visibility when out on the road. That’s why we ask our riders to train in high visibility outfits and to carry Bontrager daytime running lights.
Research has shown that in doing so, the risks of having an accident decrease significantly. We wanted to offer our neighbors this safety and comfort, so it was a logical step to provide them with the same Bontrager lights and helmets we use.
Filip Verbrugghe, CEO of GTV cycling solutions, a loyal partner of Trek-Segafredo that supports the riders and staff with the best wireless technology in audio, visual, and data communication, presented additional support: “When we heard about this Trek-Segafredo initiative, we wanted to join our forces right away, since safety on the road is very important for us. We are happy that we can provide the residents of DVC with two hubs that will allow them to charge the bike lights all at once.”
Dirk Remy, director DVC Heilig Hart was pleased to see an alliance form between the WorldTour cycling team and DVC Heilig Hart:
When top cyclists and their team, and top caretakers and the people they are taking care of, work together, we are again one step closer to a safe and inclusive society. It goes without saying that DVC Heilig Hart is extremely proud and grateful for the support of Trek-Segafredo, GTV, and Bontrager.
