Team Garmin-Sharp has unveiled its new jersey from technical clothing supplier Castelli, along with exciting collaboration news with global conservation organization WWF and the team’s official off-bike athletic footwear and clothing sponsor New Balance. 

The collaboration with WWF is a natural progression of an exciting story, in the 2013 Liège-Bastogne-Liège race, Garmin-Sharp’s captain for the race, Dan Martin, was chased by a man in a panda suit just before he sprinted to the win.

Since then, the panda has been the team’s spiritual mascot, regularly called upon via twitter to provide help in the critical moments of a race.

“We are honoured to partner with WWF and help its critical mission of creating a future where people live in harmony with nature,” says Jonathan Vaughters, CEO, Slipstream Sports and Team Garmin-Sharp. “We’re thrilled to contribute to WWF’s efforts to ensure that cyclists, cycling fans, and everyone else have a healthy, thriving planet to enjoy for generations to come.”

Team Garmin-Sharp will race in 19 countries during the 2014 season, promoting the link between sport and conservation.

“This collaboration is a natural fit for WWF because athletes and fans can be great advocates for the environment,” says Maria Boulos, Director Corporate Partnership, WWF International, “Cyclists do the sport they love outdoors, and they want to have beautiful landscapes and clean air and water to enjoy – not just today, but forever.”

For the last three years New Balance has been the official off-bike athletic footwear sponsor for Team Garmin-Sharp. New to the sponsorship this year will be the addition of the New Balance logo to the team’s official jersey.  New Balance has also branded the team by selling a shoe, with the team name.

“Since 2011 New Balance has enjoyed a successful sponsorship with Team Garmin-Sharp,” says Jeff McAdams, Head of the Global Strategic Consumer Group at New Balance. “Last year we released a Team Garmin-Sharp 890v3 running shoe that sold out around the world and in 2014 we look forward to having our NB logo added to the team kit.  As one of the world’s fastest growing athletic brands we see our sponsorship with Team Garmin-Sharp as a natural reflection of our shared vision for innovative performance.”

The 2014 Team Garmin-Sharp jersey, which includes the iconic WWF panda logo, will be raced for the first time at the Tour Down Under in Australia in January. The 2014 team kit retains the distinctive argyle while getting a totally new look to the back that will be more visible from the helicopter shots.

“It’s not just design updates. The close partnership we have with Garmin-Sharp’s Robby Ketchell, has led to improvements in aerodynamics and body temperature management in numerous models across the line, as well as 5 new models that we will be testing in 2014 to make sure the riders have the best possible clothing for every condition,” said Andrea Peron, Castelli’s race performance director.

“We’re happy that our partnership with Team Garmin-Sharp leads to real innovation for the pros that we can then bring into our Castelli collection and our Servizio Corse custom team products. Based on our partnership with the team, every cyclist can benefit from the feedback we get from the pros,” said Steve Smith, Brand Manager, Castelli.