EF Education-NIPPO unveil custom helmet for Tour of Flanders

EF Education-NIPPO has partnered up with Muc-Off to produce a custom helmet for the Tour of Flanders that pays tribute to key workers. 

The team will debut the new design at the Tour of Flanders tomorrow and will also wear it at the Amstel Gold race and the postponed Paris Roubaix. 

Muc-Off is famed for producing some of the most unique  helmets seen in professional sport and they're an iconic feature of many downhill series. 

Bringing this tradition to the tarmac, Muc-Off have teamed up with a World Tour team famous for breaking the mould when it comes to unusual kit design.

The unforgettable 'love it or hate it', Rapha + Palace EF Pro Cycling kit worn at the Giro D'Italia got tongues waggling and jerseys ended up selling for hundreds on eBay. 

> EF Pro Cycling to ride special Rapha x Palace Skateboards kit and bikes at Giro d’Italia

The 'disruptive' kit designed to make waves in the pro-peloton has been replaced this year by the world's 'most compliant jersey' which literally has the UCI guidelines incorporated into it. 

> Expert trolling of UCI rules as Rapha and EF Education-Nippo unveil new kit

Muc-Off say the unique helmet pays tribute to the incredible, selfless work done throughout the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic, with the designs featuring names of key workers nominated by the EF Education-NIPPO team. 

EF Education-NIPPO riders will be wearing the custom POC Ventral & Ventral Spin helmets at Ronde van Vlaanderen on April 4th, at the Amstel Gold on April 18th and on the infamous cobbles of Paris-Roubaix.

The helmets are also designed to raise awareness of Muc-Off’s ongoing ’Protect and Serve’ campaign, which sees 10 percent of all profits generated from its antibacterial sales donated to the WHO COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.

To further increase their fundraising efforts, Muc-Off will be raffling off three of the custom helmets, one from each of the races, with all  proceeds going to the WHO.

Details of how to enter the raffle will be released on Muc-Off and EF Education-NIPPO social channels ahead of Amstel Gold on April 18.

Alex Howes, American National Champion and EF Education-NIPPO rider, said: “I'm always amazed and in awe when I encounter someone with an innate and natural instinct to give and serve and wearing these helmets that pay a small tribute to their hard and selfless work is a real honour.

"The global pandemic rocked all of us, but it also shined a light on how strong and caring many of us can be."

Alex Trimnell, CEO at Muc-Off, added: "We’ve got a long history of designing some of the raddest helmet designs around for our MTB athletes and teams, so we’re ecstatic to be doing the same in professional road cycling."

The EF team at the Tour of Flanders tomorrow will consist of former winner Albert Bettiol, Tom Scully, Michael Valgren, Jonas Rutsch, Sebastian Langeveld, Jens Keukeleire and Stefan Bissegger.