Rudy Project, the award-winning Italian designer of performance eyewear, helmets and gear, has issued a release noting that it has been awarded the prestigious title of ‘Most Worn Helmet at the IRONMAN World Championships presented by GoPRO’.
The company notes that it has taken the top spot in the helmet category at the annual Kona product count for a fourth consecutive year – with Rudy Project being the number one helmet brand at Kona since 2011.
Overseen by LAVA Magazine, the official product count numbers for 2014 put Rudy Project again at the number one spot with 629 helmets, an notable 279 helmets over nearest competitor Giro, 409 over second closest competitor Specialized and ‘an overall increase in the gap between Rudy and other brands.’
This company noted that this ‘marks the fourth year in a row that athletes racing the IRONMAN World Championships have overwhelmingly placed their trust in Rudy Project helmets, a feat that has never been achieved in the helmet category before, to keep them aerodynamic, ventilated, safe and looking their absolute best while battling all the elements on the gruelling Queen K Highway.’
“We’re very humbled and pleased that yet again Rudy Project is the dominant brand and preferred choice of IRONMAN World Championship racers,” said Co-Founder and CEO of Rudy Project North America, Paul Craig.
“By spending countless hours in R&D fine-tuning the qualities our athletes demanded, we’ve delivered nothing short of the best, and the numbers this year prove it yet again. Even more exciting, is that our engineering and science team in conjunction with aerodynamics guru John Cobb are working on new helmet concepts that will revolutionize the way people enjoy helmet safety, aerodynamics and performance at Kona 2015.”
He continued, “I would not be surprised if over 1000 participants choose Rudy Project next year in some form because of all our available options that will be coming down the pipeline.”
Rudy Project’s two aero helmets, the Kona tested Wingspan and the all-new Wing57, made up the majority of the athlete field on Saturday’s race. With over 100 competitors racing in the new Wing57 with a visor deployed, and the other 529 wearing either the Wingspan Aero / TT, or one of Rudy Project’s award-winning and ventilated road helmets.
Both Rudy aero/TT helmets were designed with the aid of aerodynamics guru John Cobb, and wind-tunnel tested with ‘amazing results over the competition’. The Wingspan was previously named ‘Best Aero Helmet’ by Triathlete Magazine and the Wing57 was recently awarded ‘Best Triathlon Helmet’ by Gear Patrol.
The Wingspan Aero helmet was first introduced 4 years ago. Now, Rudy Project looks to ‘once again radically change the aero helmet industry with the all new Wing57.’ Several new features have been incorporated into this helmet, including ‘a fully integrated and removable optical shield, a dorsal ridge to change sideways wind force into forward momentum, and the new Vortex Killer System which straightens air flow and significantly reduces drag.’
The company also points to another interesting development at this year’s race – the number of athletes wearing Rudy Project eyewear.
“We were all focused on the helmet count here in Kona, but it seemed that there were hundreds of racers enjoying our lens technology to manage their experience on the bike and run,” said Paul Craig. “We’re elated that those who’ve found quality in our helmets are also seeing the masterful craftsmanship that goes into our Italian eyewear since 1985… From two distinct Sport Polarized optics – Polar3FX and ImpactX PhotoPolar technology, to RX, Polarized Readers and our unbreakable ImpactX photochromic lenses, which by the way, are getting a significant upgrade to ImpactX2 in the next few months.”
He added, “Keep an eye out. I would not be surprised if we were the number one worn eyewear at Kona in 2015 given the exciting new science and technology that will be released in 2015. Rudy is one of the only companies to receive Outside Magazine’s Summer Gear Guide ‘Gear of the Year’ TWICE for eyewear and when you come to Kona you see why!”
Designed and crafted in Italy since 1985, Rudy Project has grown quickly as a premier brand throughout North America. Along with proprietary, award-winning lens technologies including ImpactX, Polar3FX and RPOptics, Rudy Project aims to offer unparalleled customer service backed by a Lifetime Replacement Lens Guarantee and an industry-leading three-year frame warranty.
