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Production Shot 6Endura ends Movistar deal, blames UCI for creating innovation “dead end”
Endura is ending its sponsorship with Movistar, blaming the UCI for limiting and in some cases even banning technological advances in clothing used by top-level cyclists.
The brand, which is based in Livingston, Scotland, said on its website that it had “reached a fork in the road” and had “chosen to avoid the developmental dead end currently being enforced by the UCI.”
Endura has been the technical apparel supplier to Movistar since 2014, including for the past two years the Spanish outfit’s women’s team.
Throughout, the kit has been designed in collaboration with aerodynamics expert Simon Smart of Drag2Zero, including extensive wind tunnel testing at the Mercedes AMG-Petronas facility in Brackley, Northamptonshire.
Its kit has been worn to victory in races including the Vuelta a Espana and Giro d’Italia – with the most recent edition won by Richard Carapaz – and this season it made the rainbow jersey worn by Movistar’s Alejandro Valverde.
> Endura reveal how they made Alejandro Valverde's rainbow jersey
Endura also made the skinsuit that Alex Dowsett wore when setting a new UCI Hour Record in Manchester in 2014.
> Alex Dowsett fine-tunes Hour Record set up in wind tunnel
Outlining its decision to cease the partnership with Movistar today, the firm said: “The escalation route to the top level in road cycling see Continental and Pro Continental teams hit glass ceilings where access to higher level races is limited and so too the WorldTour where progress in technical apparel is limited by the governing body and the prize for innovation is seeing technological advances banned.
“Endura reached a fork in the road and have chosen to avoid the developmental dead end currently being enforced by the UCI.”
Endura has continued to work with Drag2Zero, last year launching its Endura D2Z range, which it claimed offered "the world’s most advanced aero clothing and helmet."
> Endura launches Drag2Zero collection, including a £430 skinsuit
However, at the start of this year the UCI banned its Surface Silicone Topography (SST) technology, with the governing body’s decision presumably a factor behind today’s announcement by Endura.
Endura says that it will continue to focus on clothing for road cyclists as well as developing aerodynamic clothing for triathletes.
It said: “Advanced aerodynamics work continues with Simon Smart, focused on the triathlon world, where technological development is not so constrained and we can expect to see for new ranges to meet needs the hardcore roadies whether that’s on tarmac or gravel.
“That said, Endura will keep a watching brief over the WorldTour and don’t discount a return to the pro peloton in the future.”
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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9 comments
Ah, formula 1, that bastion of cutting edge design and innovation where you have a 2000 page rule book dictating exactly what you can and can't do and all the cars look the same
It seems crazy that the strict regulations are turning big brands like Endura away. Surely the top level of the sport should be embracing technology and pushing things forward?
Check this article that asks the question: Should Pro Cycling be the Formula One of bicycles? http://https://theobsessivecyclist.com/2019/11/25/opinion-pro-cycling-should-be-the-formula-one-of-cycling/
I'm bored of F1 references in cycling. It always strikes me as lazy, as if it is the only sport that is supposedly 'pushing boundaries'. And since cycling is primarily about an athlete while F1 is mostly about design and technology (and who has the most effective pit stop strategy
).
The writer in the link obviously feels that everything should be as light and expensive as possible. I don't think that's a healthy attitude but then I'm in favour of keeping the 6.8 kg weight rule. Racing isn't going to be more interesting if all the bikes are 1 kg lighter. It's just a ruse to sell more very expensive bikes to punters.
He writes about a Lotus TT bike image: "Imagine if one day, the pro peloton’s bikes looked like this?" but today's TT bikes don't look all that different to the image. He's just daydreaming, pretending things would be so very different if only 'the blazers' (or whoever else is to blame) weren't so mean-spirited. It's bollocks.
Yes we can all roll our eyes at the sock height issue and banning new fabrics does seem to stifle innovation on one front but brands like Castelli, Gore and Rapha are still working hard to bring new products to market. Is he UCI's clothing rule really the reason for their departure?
All true to a point, they're not that big (people wise) though - so (at least partially) wasting resource is going to effect them more than some - and sounds like bang per buck is elsewhere as said.
..perhaps they don't want to burn resources and cash on developing stuff that gets banned, kind of like they said.
Their kit being banned by the UCI generated a huge amount of publicity for Endura.
I'd not be surprised if people wanting to compete in any event not sanctioned by the UCI might say "Ah, Endura clothing is too fast for the UCI so that's probably the one to buy".
They still make plenty of UCI compliant products so if the deal with Movistar was effective they'd surely continue. And they're still mainly a mass market brand, it's not as if they exist solely to sell top end pro-level skinsuits.
While publicly blaming the UCI, who presumably are trying to 'level the playing field', perhaps Endura have found that the Spanish-based Movistar team has not proved to be great value or a powerful promotional tool for the Scottish clothing brand.
Perhaps the bespoke option (like Rapha are now doing) and the triantelope market pay better. Or do they sell loads of kit in Spain and South America?
I suspect that, for a company that seems to want to focus on aero innovation, this is a big factor. That, and whether or not Movistar has been a good investment, all these big offseason moves can't be encouraging.
Agreed, and also Movistar aren't exactly the first team that comes to mind when you think 'Aero Gains' teams like Ineos, Sunweb, Jumbo etc seem more the sort of teams with high profile riders who are good against the clock. When they had Alex Dowsett on the team and going for the hour record it was probably a good shop window, but they don't really have many names that would push that. Lightweight climbing gear on the other hand then Movistar would probably be a perfect fit.