Is a World Tour really that big a deal?
Alberto Garcia, co-founder and Product Manager atGobikthinks and responds: "Is the World Tour more than it's cracked up to be? It depends a little bit on the goals you set for yourself".
In the case of the with UAE Team EmiratesThe brand's collaboration with UAE Team Emirates was taken as a sustained test over time, a demanding test in view of "the team's needs and expectations, which are very high. We've always been very open to letting staffand runners, meeting their needs, correcting things and creating new garments to reach the maximum of personalization. Trying to make them as comfortable as possible".
Garment customization
It's not easy: "In a team of this type, the range of cyclists is very wide, from 5'6" to 5'9". With that variety we have to come up with a garment that all riders can use.that adapts to their physiognomies and that implies continuous changes in jerseys and culottes".
Continuous improvement
"The product at the beginning of the season was already very good but the improvement did not stop there.We started with garments that were at the beginning of the development process.We started with garments that were at the beginning of the development process, with different versions, to others such as the time trial suit or pieces that have involved different evolutions in search of the best possible fit," continues Alberto.
Models that can be seen and others that remain in history
The head of Gobik explains that "there are common garments for everyone, although this is not always the case. This is a bit like F1, many garments and essays are left behind along the way. The fit of World Tour riders tends to be very extreme.aerodynamics in some parts".
Curiously "there are models where comfort is not a priority. This is the case with the time trial suitdesigned for a perfect fit, designed to ride for an hour at the highest speed.and perform at your best. That suit doesn't work in other environments.
It's a life "always looking for aerodynamics, maximum watt savings."
Then there's the winter pack with a purpose: "To achieve a comfort that allows you to perform at your best in the worst possible conditions, more so in a year like this one, which has had terrible days. In that sense, the Giro d'Italia was very demanding".
Here Alberto admits that "since the cyclist suffers a lot, we have the duty to try to make the material make things easier for him.”.
In constant contact with the team
To make the clothing as efficient as possible the work is two-wayWe get different opinions from the team, both from staff and runners. Over time you detect that that the riders have a more technical criterionbecause they've had many years behind them and they've have used different brands. They know what works for them and they pass it on to you, they come up with ideas, and we try to We try to translate them into a prototype that is tested in training sessions and, if it is viable, the garment is launched for the entire team," says Alberto.
In the screening process, we have to be prodigious.Sometimes personal tastes are conveyed, which can be counterproductive for the rest of the team.. You have to know how to channel the feedback towards a product that is as versatile as possible, within the specialization that is already imposed on a WT team".
This is a two-way job, since Alberto admits that from Gobik "proposals have also come out. This is an enriching project. We had garments that we wanted to launch on the market, but they were a bit immature.. They have been tested at the highest level and once the garment responds well, we introduce the adaptations that guarantee the best fit so that anyone can wear it".
In this sense, Alberto García points to the collection made together with Polartec with clothing that has been tested "throughout the season, during the Classics, Giro and Tour, and they have been delighted. They have made us feel confident that the product was viable, even before our testers had validated it".
The jersey of the Champs Elysées
From Gobik admit that "it has been a complicated testbut we have a very strong team of committed people. Think that we are not only managing a WTbut also other structures with very high demands.
In that sense he argues that "we are used to last minute changes. For example, a week before the Tour, there are national championships, and everything must be ready to hit the button and have it ready, especially having a team like this, with so many options to win a national, both time trial and long-distance. That can't be improvised.
A very special piece of clothing was the Champs-Elysées outfit to celebrate the second Tour de Pogačar: "It is still a product already planned, which is manufactured and shipped, but it is not known until the last day if it will be used".
Winning the Tour in the premiere
It was something that even in our best dreams," says Alberto, "we couldn't even think of achieving. It was our first year in the WT, we knew that Tadej was one of the favorites, but you know that anything can happen".
The balance is what it is:
"We are very proud of what we have achieved and not only this year, because 2021 is the fruit of what we have done in previous years. To see a runner wearing our garments there is incredible".
Increased brand awareness Gobik
“It is not easy to know how our image has improvedThere are many marketing and return studies, but we are left with everything we perceive from our sales network, from users... What we have achieved is to strengthen our brand and put us on the map for many people who didn't know us," says Alberto, who affirms that "many pieces for next year are the result of this season's work.
And for 2022: "There is a lot of enthusiasm for the new season, new challenges and different teams.It is clear that in 2021 great things were achieved at the sporting level, repeating it would be a success, but we want our material to be a "little bit" better each year and that the end user can enjoy these garments, which are ultimately much more democratic".
