During 2021 I started writing my goals in a notebook as a way to reinforce positive thoughts and keep my eyes on the big picture. Looking back in my notebook, I wrote the same sentence every morning for months and months: “Top teams in the World Tour and Cross Country World Cup are using our products under sponsorship.”
At this point we were very much aware that Kogel products had been used to win Grand Tour stages and victories at the very highest level of mountain biking. Typically athletes love our products and our “go faster with less energy” mantra.
Unofficial Results
More than once did we run into a situation where athletes wanted to use our products but had a conflict with one of their big-dollar sponsors. And that is just how the world of professional cycling works, no harm, no foul.
It is only since last year that Kogel introduced a line of titanium bolts, which opened new doors for us: zoom in on some pictures from the Snowshoe XCO world cup. Now zoom in a little bit more. You see the gold bolts on Jolanda Neff’s custom painted bike with the gold bamboo theme? How about the rainbow colored stem bolts on Eevie Richard’s World Champ bike? I have been pixel peeping those images for months and those images put a smile on my face every time.
Supporting the World’s Best Cyclist
Talking to theTrek Factory XC team mechanics and manager, we discovered that the Bontrager wheels were running on stock bearings and we were free to help the best riders in the world become a little more speedy.
One door opened another and we had a similar conversation with the Trek Segafredo road team. In my opinion the men's team is among the best in the business, but please have a look at the women’s line up on their web page. It looks like half the team is not riding in the team jersey! I see rainbows, blue and gold stars and a range of national jerseys. We’re talking winners of almost every spring classic on the calendar: Roubaix, Flanders, Liege-Bastogne and let’s throw in some olympic medals for good measure.
A Mountain of Gratitude
Do I sound a little giddy and overly excited for the racing season to kick off? Well, that is exactly what’s happening. Today we are officially announcing our collaboration with Trek Factory Racing XC and Trek Segafredo. Kogel will supply the teams with wheel bearings and titanium bolts, because details matter!
I could not be more honored and thankful to have the best athletes using the products from a company that we started from scratch in 2014. Kogel and our amazing team of employees have come a long way from a 5x10 foot storage unit in El Paso, TX to the highest levels of racing.
PS. My goal writing book is already on to the next big thing, because clearly visualization works wonders. What do you think I should pen down for the next few months?
