As part of their end of season trip to the United States, Kasper Asgreen, Mattia Cattaneo, Yves Lampaert and Ilan Van Wilder visited the global headquarters of our partners and friends Oakley.
This was the second time that our riders have visited the impressive 30,000 square meter facility in Foothill Ranch, California, giving them a chance to see at first hand the impressive, groundbreaking work that Oakley do, and to help them plan for the 2023 season. The visit is part of a trip that has already seen them take on the Big Sugar gravel race, and will also include a trip to see our partners at Specialized.
The riders were given a hands-on demonstration of Oakley’s High Definition Optics®, PRIZM™ lens technology, impact protection, and more, which provided them even further confidence that the eyewear they are wearing during racing and training are the best in the business.
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This was followed by a tour of the Oakley Museum, which details the brand’s rich history, beginning in 1975, up until the present day, before then being walked through the process of how eyewear is made, seeing everything from PRIZM™ resin making, lens cutting, product assembly, quality test lab, and much more. We then sat down with Oakley employees from Sports Marketing, Product Development, Product Marketing, VPL (Vision Performance Lab), and Design departments, to have an open dialogue and fact-finding session. They were interviewed on the riders’ preferred models, why they choose them, which lenses they utilize and much more. Any opportunities for improvement were discussed and solutions applied, as well as receiving a sneak-peak on some very exciting future projects. This session is always the most impactful and beneficial part of the visits, where both we and the Oakley team learn new insights about the products – highlighting one of Oakley’s key brand mantras – “Anything in the world can and will be made better.”
Finally, the quartet had their heads scanned to create a digital 3D analysis of their head shape, which allows Oakley to study a virtual copy of the riders’ features for future projects, analysis of their current eyewear fit, touchpoints of their glasses and more.
After the visit, Oakley’s Director of Global Performance Sports Marketing John Ohail said: “It is always a privilege and a pleasure to have our partners from Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl visit us at our global headquarters, here in California. Eyewear is a vital piece of performance equipment for any bike racer, and while the riders and staff already have full confidence in our eyewear, from our years of partnership, allowing them to see first-hand and in person the science, technology, and passion that goes on behind-the-scenes in Foothill Ranch is extremely meaningful. We rely on feedback from the best riders in the world to create the ultimate in sport performance and lifestyle eyewear, so while the visit is impactful to the riders, it is equally beneficial to us. We’re thankful to Yves, Kasper, Mattia, Ilan and the staff for making the trip and look forward to a very prosperous and successful 2023 campaign together.”
We would like to thank our friends at Oakley for their hospitality and we look forward to a successful 2023 together!
Photo credit: ©Oakley
