Press release

DSM’s Dyneema® fiber powers Team Giant-Alpecin riders’ shorts in Tour de France 2015

Heerlen, NL, 01 Jul 2015 12:00 CEST

Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company and Team Giant-Alpecin today announced that the team’s riders will wear new protective cycling shorts in this year’s Tour de France. The new shorts feature a new fabric containing Dyneema® fiber to provide increased protection to the thighs.

DSM and Team Giant-Alpecin announced their innovation partnership in January 2015. The partnership aims to enable Team Giant-Alpecin to benefit from DSM's innovative power. Based on its extensive knowledge in Life Sciences and Materials Sciences, DSM will help to develop new innovations in the area of materials and nutrition with the potential to improve the performance and safety of the team's riders. Also the innovations will be brought to the market to benefit amateur cyclists as well.

DSM’s world’s strongest fiber, branded as Dyneema is used in a novel fabric that is applied in the shorts to provide protection to the thigh-area, one of the most vulnerable areas for cyclists. The shorts meet the critical comfort requirements of the cyclist combined with enhanced protection, reducing the risk of serious injuries. This innovation builds on the technology that was previously developed by DSM for the Dutch cyclists in the 2012 Olympic Games.

The new shorts are the result of close cooperation between DSM scientists, their fabric manufacturing partner Taiana, Giant-Alpecin’s technical staff and their clothing supplier Etxeondo.

The shorts were presented during the presentation of the Tour de France selection of the team in Utrecht today. DSM’s Managing Board member Dimitri de Vreeze said: “We are proud to present these new shorts including our Dyneema fiber. As an enthusiastic amateur cyclist myself, I know how important it is to feel confident, safe and comfortable in the saddle and just be able to concentrate on the sport. We wish the team’s riders success in their races and will continue to explore new ways to further contribute to their performance and safety.”

Iwan Spekenbrink, CEO of Team Giant-Alpecin commented: “We are delighted with the new shorts. To maximally focus on their performance, riders need to feel safe and comfortable. Unfortunately riders sometimes crash. The protection and safety offered by incorporating Dyneema helps substantially in the reduction of wounds and injuries of the riders which give a positive impact on their performance.”

Paco Rodrigo, Etxeondo founder added: "Together with the team experts and DSM we have developed this new bib short. We took on the challenge to create this new product which had to answer the need of both comfort as well as protection. We feel confident that this innovation will help the riders feel secure and comfortable in the most demanding race situations."

The partnership with DSM has provided Team Giant-Alpecin with three products so far. In addition to the new shorts the team riders have the availability of Culturelle® Health and Wellness with 100% Lactobacillus GG, the #1 most clinically studied probiotic strain, which plays a major role in supporting the body’s natural immune system and boosting digestive health – important benefits for professional cyclists who have to stay fit over the course of races that may take days or even weeks to complete*.

Fast-recovery drinks are also available that contain PeptoPro®, a protein hydrolysate originally developed by DSM for the 2004 Olympic Games, which has subsequently been improved in several key areas. PeptoPro is a highly advanced peptide formulation that needs no digestion and can be absorbed quickly by the body for instant delivery to the muscles.

*) Based on the number of Lactobacillus GG clinical studies, as of August 2014
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

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