Culture
The best of both worlds: safety and sustainability
POC Sports introduces the new Myelin helmet made from fifty-percent recycled materials
June 24, 2022
Keeping our riders well looked after is a big task. That’s why EF Education-EasyPost staffs mechanics, soigneurs, sports directors, coaches, doctors, a chef, and a host of others to ensure that our 31 riders are free to focus on training, resting, and racing.
Rider safety has always been an essential part of this equation. After all, if a rider isn’t safe, it’s impossible to get through a single training session — let alone the season — healthily and happily.
Since POC Sports entered the WorldTour in 2014, the team has depended on the Swedish company for helmets and eyewear to keep our riders safe without affecting performance.
“POC sunglasses and helmets are different from the others,” says Alberto Bettiol. “They make something that is unique. Their helmets and glasses are really comfortable. The lenses in the glasses are really good in all terrain, in dry and wet situations. I’m really happy to have POC looking out for us.”
But safety extends beyond physicality. Keeping our planet safe — that is to say, healthy and sustainable — is an important consideration. The team switched to using compostable bidons as a step toward decreasing our plastic consumption. POC also values environmentalism, as is evidenced by their latest helmet, the Myelin.
“We wanted to question the idea that safety and sustainability could not obviously co-exist in a helmet,” says senior POC designer Claes Nellestam. “As a protection company, our first priority is the safety of riders, but we also place on ourselves an obligation to use our planet’s resources respectfully. So, we wanted to challenge the conventional way of creating a helmet, in particular by starting with recycled materials, how it is manufactured and how it can be deconstructed so as to allow for all the materials to be used again.”
Made from fifty-percent recycled materials, the Myelin is POC’s first sustainable helmet and sacrifices neither safety nor comfort. Industry guidelines recommend replacing a helmet every three to five years and the Myelin is designed to be deconstructed into separate components and then recycled.
Esteban Chaves is excited about POC’s latest release. “POC’s Myelin looks super sweet. The fact that it’s sustainable and made of recyclable materials is amazing. I really want to try it out when I do some different types of rides in the off-season.”