It’s Sheep vs. RAAM at the World’s Toughest Bike Race

It’s Sheep vs. RAAM at the World’s Toughest Bike Race

– New Zealand merino apparel company Icebreaker takes on the epic Race Across America, June 12-21, 2010 –

– Daily online contests will give away Icebreaker gear and four entries to New Zealand’s own cross-country race, the Speight’s Coast to Coast –


Wellington, New Zealand (8 June, 2010) – Icebreaker, the New Zealand company that pioneered the outdoor merino wool apparel category, will be taking part in this year’s epic 3,000-mile Race Across America (RAAM) bike race, June 12-21, 2010.

VP of Product and Creative Director Rob Achten will be leading the pack of four Kiwi cyclists as Team Icebreaker speeds across America, wearing Icebreaker’s new line of cycling apparel.

“The Race Across America is going to be a huge adventure for us, and we’re up for the challenge,” said Achten. “We’re excited to see how four cyclists with funny accents from the Southern Hemisphere can do getting across this massive country of yours.”

Continued Achten, “We’re convinced that we’ll have the big speed advantage over our competition as we won’t have to spend time washing our jerseys, thanks to Icebreaker’s wondrous, non-whiffy merino.”

RAAM is the toughest endurance event in the world; a non-stop, continuous race in which cyclists ride as fast as they can for 3,000 miles, from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland.

“When we asked Rob to test out our new line of cycling gear, he took the request very seriously indeed,” said Jeremy Moon, founder of Icebreaker. “We’re all cheering for him and Team Icebreaker as they take on this grueling test of endurance.”

The team and support crew have been rationed two Icebreaker garments each for the duration of the race. Said Moon, “We’re looking forward to seeing how our gear performs and stands up to the test of this ten day epic race.”


Follow Icebreaker across America, Win Gear and an Entry to New Zealand’s Famous Coast-to-Coast Race

Beginning June 12, the first day of RAAM, visitors to raam.icebreaker.com will be able to enter two contests: The Icebreaker Race Across America Daily Prize Draw and the Speight’s Coast to Coast Endurance Contest.

Icebreaker Race Across America Daily Prize Draw
Every day of RAAM, Icebreaker will be giving away gear. To enter the daily draw, simply post a message of support, ask a question of the cyclists, or answer the daily question via the  raam.icebreaker.com website, Facebook , Twitter or email (raam@icebreaker.com). Each day, Icebreaker will randomly draw one winner to receive an IcebreakerGT top.

Speight’s Coast to Coast Endurance Contest
While Icebreaker is charging across America, people can enter to win one of four entries to New Zealand’s own coast-to-coast race, the Speight’s Coast to Coast. Taking place February 11-12, 2011, this premier multisport race traverses the South Island of New Zealand from the Tasman Sea to the Pacific Ocean. It involves 87 miles of cycling, 22 miles of running (including a mountain stage that crosses the Southern Alps) and 41 miles of kayaking down the grade two Waimakariri River and through the Grand Canyon of New Zealand, the Waimakariri Gorge.

To enter, participants need to send an email to raam@icebreaker.com telling of their own story of extreme endurance (limit 50 words). The winners will be chosen at the conclusion of the Race Across America and the four best, most courageous, most outrageous stories will win a place in the Speight’s Coast to Coast 2011 (a $1,000 value).  

Kia ora America!

Visitors to raam.icebreaker.com can also follow Team Icebreaker online as they make their way across America. The team will be will be reporting daily with video and blog posts, chronicling not only the race and its challenges but the cultural exchange that happens when wool-covered Kiwis meet the Yanks in America’s heartland.

About Icebreaker
Launched in 1994, Icebreaker was the first company in the world to develop a merino fiber layering system for the outdoors. It was also the first outdoor apparel company in the world to source merino directly from growers, a system it began in 1997. There are now 10 distinct pure merino fabrics in the Icebreaker system, covering underwear, mid layer, and outerwear.

Icebreaker is sold in more than 2,000 stores in 24 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Australasia and North America. Based in Wellington, New Zealand, Icebreaker uses only pure merino hand-picked from 120 high country stations in the country’s Southern Alps to create edgy outdoor clothing that combines nature’s work with human technology and design. The company is committed to sustainability, ethical manufacturing and animal welfare. In 2008 the company launched “Icebreaker Baacode,” a pioneering supply chain transparency and traceability program. Each Icebreaker