Ski PolesR&D
In the Alpine Ski World Cup, the focus is always on maximum technology and performance. LEKI, one of the most important brands of poles and gloves in the world of competitions, in collaboration with Sidas, famous for insoles, insoles and boot fittings, have started a collaboration aimed at the production of a new shin guard for slalom that adapts more characteristics of the individual athlete.
Tuesday 20 December 2022 4 minutes reading time
Numerous athletes have needed custom shin guards in the past. They could be obtained with a very expensive artisanal procedure which could take up to 16 hours of work. With the new process, the assembly time has now been reduced to less than an hour and can also be easily implemented in specialist shops in the future.
How the new customizable shin guards work
Thermoformable inserts in Podiamic are inserted into the shin guard, specially developed by Sidas for this purpose. Athletes can choose between two different degrees of hardness with more or less elasticity. Thanks to the perfect fit, the shin guards offer even more precision, comfort and available power for the athlete. From winter 24 | 25, the process will also be offered in specialized shops. This will give the athletes of the coming years the opportunity to improve their slalom technique even more with perfectly fitting shin guards.
LEKI CEO Matthias Hatt is convinced of a meaningful cooperation that complements each other: "The individualisation of the right products is crucial for the future, especially in racing. The cooperation with a company like Sidas allows us to achieve goals important". Hans Peter Kummer, racing manager of LEKI, works with the athletes all year round and has already tested the new shin guard with some of them. Alexis Pinturault, Atle Lie McGrath, Manuel Feller, Michael Matt, Johannes Strolz, Loic Meillard, Ramon Zenhäusern, Linus Strasser, Tommaso Sala, Alex Vinatzer, Adrian Pertl and Kristoffer Jakobsson are already skiing with the new Shin Guard this World Cup season.
A few weeks ago the first men's slalom of the season took place in Val d'Isere, where Loic Meillard and Manuel Feller climbed directly onto the podium with the new shin guard. Runner-up Manuel Feller reported after the race: "I have already skied with the new shin guards in training and now in the first slalom of the season in Val d''Isere. The shin guards now fit even better on the lower leg and shin ", they hold very well and follow every movement perfectly. Even when I'm skiing at an incorrect angle to the slalom gate, the guard doesn't twist and the gate falls exactly the way I want." shin guards: "The new shin guards have a perfect fit right from the start. Assembly is simple and fast. These shin guards fit well, are more comfortable and above all, the inclination angle of the slalom goal is perfect. This way I can concentrate on the essentials without being distracted. This is how it should work for us athletes.“
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