The PTO has announced Garneau as the Official Team Internationals Outfitter for the first-ever Collins Cup on August 28 2021.
Completing the trio of outfitters for the inaugural Collins Cup, Internationals athletes will be kitted out in Garneau gear as the Canadian brand becomes the team’s Official Outfitter for the PTO’s new flagship event on 28 August, where we’ll get to see the world’s best triathletes go head-to-head-to-head over 12 match-up races.
Garneau joins HUUB for Team Europe and Zoot for Team USA as Official Outfitter, each brand having a long history of supporting athletes from the regions they represent. In triathlon circles, Garneau is surely best known for its long-term partnership with Internationals #1 Lionel Sanders, who’s been with the company since he turned pro in 2012.
The brand’s connection to cycling and triathlon goes back much further, however. A champion track cyclist for Canada, Louis Garneau founded his company in his father’s garage in1983 just before he participated at the 1984 Olympic Games in LA. His Cycling Development Team based in Quebec has helped many talented young riders to pass into the ranks of professionals such as David Veilleux (first Quebec cyclist to participate in the Tour de France), Antoine Duchesne (Groupama FDJ), Hugo Houle (Astana-Premier Tech) and Canadian Michael Woods (Israel Start-Up Nation).
Garneau’s dedication to triathlon apparel started in 1988 when the brand launched its first triathlon collection. Since then, the company has worked and collaborated with many of the best triathletes in the world, including Craig Alexander, Chris Legh, Chrissie Wellington, Mirinda Carfrae, Lisa Bentley and Linsey Corbin.
Athletes currently automatically qualified to join Sanders on Team Internationals include Braden Currie, Sam Appleton and Max Neumann. The women’s team looks set to include Teresa Adam, Paula Findlay, Jeanni Metzler and Sarah Crowley. Meanwhile, the athletes will be backed by four team captains – Craig Alexander, Erin Baker, Simon Whitfield and Lisa Bentley, each a legend of triathlon.
“We are very excited to equip Team Internationals for the inaugural Collins Cup,” said Garneau. “We have worked closely with Lionel Sanders, Team Internationals No. 1 ranked athlete, for his entire career, and we are proud to be part of this landmark event. We are dedicated to innovative designs and will be applying our skill to provide Team Internationals with kit that will not only be stylish but will also provide them with the high-performance standards they need to compete for the Collins Cup.”
Sam Renouf, PTO CEO added: “We are thrilled to have Garneau on board as official outfitter for Team Internationals in The Collins Cup. We look forward to leveraging the excitement, rivalry and drama of Team battles in The Collins Cup while showcasing our amazing PTO Professionals to a global audience on August 28th.”
