Lotto Belisol: Lotto Belisol closes a partnership with Gaerne
Since this season the Italian Gaerne is the official supplier of cycling shoes for Lotto Belisol. The riders will be provided of tailor-made shoes and personal advice the whole year. The company was established in 1962 by Ernesto Gazzola, the name has been derived from his initials. Initially Gaerne produced hiking shoes, in the seventies the assortment was expanded with motorcycle boots and in the mid eighties they started producing cycling shoes. Among other Marco Pantani and Claudio Ciappucchi were customers.
The riders will have the Carbon G.Chrono at their disposal, a shoe which only weighs 275 grams, 25% less than previous designs. The ultra-thin thickness of the carbon which the sole is made off allows the foot to be positioned at a minimal distance from the pedal, thus allowing maximum power whilst pedaling without loss of energy. The BOAL 5 closure system, patented by Gaerne, gives an excellent comfort and ventilation. Marta Gazzola, daughter of founder Ernesto, elaborates on the cooperation with Lotto Belisol. First Marc Sergeant, general manager of Lotto Belisol, gives some comment on the partnership.
Marc Sergeant, general manager Lotto Belisol: “Of course we are very pleased that in the upcoming season Gaerne will be the fixed supplier of the cycling shoes for our riders. Gaerne has tens of years of experience and year after year it tries to confirm and reinforce its reputation and top quality. A number of our riders already rode with their shoes in the past, which shows they produce material of the highest level. I am confident that the partnership between Lotto Belisol and Gaerne will be successful and that with Gaerne the riders will take a number of victories.”
Marta Gazzola, marketing manager Gaerne: “At Gaerne we are very grateful to general manager Marc Sergeant for this great opportunity and for the trust Lotto Belisol puts in us. We are one of the main leaders in producing cycling shoes worldwide, so for us it is very important that our shoes are worn by one of the biggest teams in the peloton. This is not only to promote the brand, but also to get feedback from the riders on our new developments.”
“In the past riders like Jurgen Van den Broeck and Jürgen Roelandts already wore our shoes. Thanks to the fact that those individual riders were happy with the product and the service we can now supply shoes for the team. Gaerne is able to customize the shoes for each rider. We can make changes according to their physiology. That’s why we had two meetings with the riders. The first one was half October in Belgium to get to know the needs of the riders. André Greipel requested us to have a special design as he is German champion and he also wanted the Gorilla logo to be placed on it.”
“Then we prepared each rider a pair of shoes and at the December training camp in Mallorca we came to see if everything was alright and to make modifications if necessary. Our company will follow the riders during the entire season and someone of us will be at races like Tirreno-Adriatico, Milan-Sanremo and Giro so the riders have a personal connection with Gaerne and we can assist them throughout the year. We don’t put a limit on the number of shoes, but based on our experience three or four pairs is sufficient to complete a season because of the high quality of our product.”
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