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GT Baselayer put to the test at the Speight’s Coast to Coast

Jordan Pearson recently completed the Speight’s Coast to Coast, racing a gruelling 243 km’s from New Zealand’s West to East Coast, crossing the mighty Southern Alps and some of our merino country in the process. An Icebreaker sponsored athlete, Jordan put our GT Baselayers to the ultimate test.

“My first Speight’s Coast to Coast went better than expected with great results in all of my sections. My school team finished 3rd in the 2 Day School Boys section.

On the beach I received a lot of media attention in my R&R Sport kit, a bright yellow school team race bib with Icebreaker tattoos on my face. The race began well with an average run placing me in the third bunch up the road. Ok but the bunch wasn’t working well together so using my awesome Giant TCR Advanced I made the jump up to the second bunch. However, this bunch wasn’t working well together either, so when I got the chance I made a break up to the first bunch. With about 20km to go on the first ride, the individuals expected the team members to tow them to the run transition. This left me pulling along the first bunch without help. I soon got sick of towing them along so I broke away seeing if I could catch Steve Gurney. I didn’t quite catch him before the transition but still good enough to be 5th overall into transition giving my team runner a five minute lead over the other school boy teams. After a decent run by my team mate, we were still placed third, 20 minutes behind second place. A good day 1.

Day 2 began well, with Steve Gurney, Olivia Spencer-Bower and Kate Cambie in my start group. Steve and I charged through the bike catching other competitors easily as we worked together to Mt White Bridge. I was really pleased to actually lead Gurney while running down to the kayak. My Icebreaker GT layers were ideal for the paddle through the higher than normal gorge. Took a few waves over the bow but great fun and fast! The kayak was going well until just before Woodstock where the wind picked up to almost impossible conditions for paddling. Thanks to the wind and my relative light weight I had several swims which lost me at least 40 minutes. Even the elites and heavier paddlers were having major issues with the wind. After a fast transition, my team mate was flying down the final cycle until 2 punctures ended any chance of moving in to second place, crossing the line in an overall time of 14:10:00.

Overall, the race went well with only a few glitches. Thanks to Icebreaker for the merino layers.”

- Jordan Pearson, Icebreaker Sponsored Athlete


Join us on the Race Across America

Four of our staff members – Rob Achten, Hamish Allan, Jason Brown and Mike Stepanek are currently competing in the Race Across America – one of the world’s toughest endurance races, an epic non-stop bike race across the US from June 12-20.

You can follow their progress on our specially designed RAAM website here:  http://raam.icebreaker.com/

Please send in messages of support via Twitter and Facebook.  We’re also giving away daily prizes of Icebreaker gear and four Speight’s Coast 2 Coast entry tickets on the RAAM Competition page.

Thanks to the tremendous support crew made up of Icebreaker staff – they’re doing a great job ensuring the team in well looked after on the race!

Go hard guys!

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Preparing to Race Across America

A team from Icebreaker’s head office in Wellington is about to take on one of the world’s toughest endurance events – Race Across America, an epic, non-stop bike race across the US.

Mad, huh?  We think so, but our team is committed to putting our gear to the test, taking it to the limit and getting back to nature.

Last weekend, the team – Rob, Hamish, Maureen and Jason – completed a test run, cycling from Wellington to Taupo in some of the worst weather we’ve seen in a while.  They battled the elements in preparation for the race, rocking out their IcebreakerGT gear and showing us what they’re made of.  The pictures speak a thousand words – see for yourself.  Shot by Fred l’Ami our Identity Design Director, he’ll also be covering the Race Across America.

The team and support crew will be wearing Icebreaker for the duration of the event.  We’re looking forward to putting our gear to the test during this 8 day non-stop epic Race Across America.

You can watch the progress of the team, send messages of support, ask questions, enter to win Icebreaker gear and entries to the Speight’s Coast to Coast via the following website:  http://raam.icebreaker.com

We’d love you to join in and support our guys – highlight June 12 in your diaries for the start of the race!

Gearing upReady to goSetting up the wind trainerJase and Hamish strategisingJason sorting out a punctureJase fixing a tyreMaureen in the midst of one of her legsMaureen on her wind trainer - a broken arm hampered her riding on the road during the weekendA team pit stopNice weather to ride inHamish out to itMakuini Warbrick our RAAM Crew Chief keeps an eye on the ridersRob and Jason battling the elementsMaureen Hennessy our NZ Operations Manager, gets some much needed restThe beautiful scenery along the wayRob's bike needs a rest tooJason focused on the task aheadHamish secures his bike ready for the next legKeeping our gear dry!Hamish Allan our Raw Materials Planner, contemplates the ride ahead of him.Rob Achten, our VP of Product and Creative Director re-fuels before hopping on his bike againJason Brown, our NZ Market Manager riding into the distance