KOO, the outdoor and sports eyewear specialist brand, a sister brand to Italian helmet player KASK, has announced a three-year partnership with former pro cyclist Alberto Contador and his foundation which supports young cyclists – the first partnership of its kind for KOO.
Contador is one of the most successful riders of his generation – and one of only two riders ever to have won all three Grand Tour titles multiple times. Now, in his first year as an ex-pro, he has chosen KOO as his eyewear of choice.
Ylenia Battistello, KOO’s Cycling Brand Manager, said “We are delighted to have Alberto on hand as an expert and are flattered that he has chosen to wear KOO in his first year away from the professional peloton. We look forward to working with him in the next step of his journey.”
Alberto Contador said “It’s exciting to have a choice of brands to work with now I am retired, KOO fits perfectly with my lifestyle and riding. I look forward to working closely with KOO both personally and through the Alberto Contador Foundation.”
In a release from KOO, the brand adds that it is ‘excited to have such an experienced rider on hand as an ambassador, consulting on the future design and development of their growing product range, which can be found on kooworld.cc.’
Born in Italy and developed by KASK as its eyewear offering, KOO sponsors and develops products in conjunction with many leading teams and athletes. These include the road cycling teams Cervélo-Bigla Pro Cycling, Polartec-Kometa Team and Wiggle High5 Pro Cycling; triathletes including Nikki Bartlett, Leanda Cave, Matt Hanson and Andy Potts, cyclocross racer Jeremy Powers and ambassadors such as Alberto Contador.
In forming the the Alberto Contador Foundation, Contador is joined by his former teammate and friend Ivan Basso, who will be the sport manager while Fran Contador will take over the administrative management. ‘The new team aims to offer an opportunity for professional training for young people from both the Contador Foundation and other European world schools, continuing the work already initiated by Trek-Segafredo.’
The main sponsors – US firm Polartec and the Italian company Kometa – have signed a three-year commitment, helping to secure the project’s stability. The team will have bikes and technical support from Trek Factory Racing, with an operational base in Pinto (Madrid), sharing the headquarters with other teams in the Alberto Contador Foundation.
