Indiana Company Powers Olympic Medal Winners

Zipp manufactures several bicycle parts, including wheels, handlebars, stems and seatposts.

The company is a unit of Chicago-based SRAM Corp.

August 17, 2012

News Release

A photo finish. A sweet repeat. A dynamic duo of brothers. Athletes riding Zipp® wheels, handlebars or stems put in impressive and dramatic performances in London to win five medals – including two gold – in cycling and triathlon.

Women’s time trial
American Kristin Armstrong, part of the Exergy TWENTY12 Team, wore No. 1 as the defending champion in the 2008 time trial. She earned the top spot on the podium again, covering the 29 km (18 mile) course on Aug. 1 in 37:34.82 for gold riding a Zipp 808 Firecrest® front wheel, a Super-9 Disc in the rear. To maintain her optimal aero position, Armstrong used the Zipp Vuka Bull basebar with new carbon Race Vuka Shift extensions.

Men’s time trial
German Tony Martin, part of the Omega Pharma – Quick-Step Cycling Team, claimed silver in the men’s 44 km (27 mile) race against the clock Aug. 1, finishing behind only Tour de France champ Bradley Wiggins. Martin rode the 808 Firecrest and Super-9 Disc.

Men’s triathlon
Alistair Brownlee of Great Britain confirmed his pre-race standing as the home-country favorite, cruising to victory and celebrating as he crossed the finish line. He covered the 1.5 kilometer swim, 43 kilometer bike and 10 kilometer run Aug. 7 in London’s Hyde Park in 1:46:25. Brother Jonathan Brownlee took bronze. The two rode 404 Firecrest wheels, Zipp Service Course® SL stems and Service Course SL bars. Incredibly, five of the top six finishers – with Frenchmen David Hauss and Laurent Vidal in fourth and fifth respectively and defending gold medalist Jan Frodeno of Germany in sixth – were riding Zipp wheels.

Women’s triathlon
Sweden’s Lisa Norden took silver – despite finishing with an identical 1:59:48 time as gold medal winner Nicola Spirig of Switzerland in the Aug. 4 race. Only a photo finish could determine the winner after an intense sprint to the line. Norden rode Zipp 303 wheels in the cycling leg before her dramatic dash to the finish.

In all, Zipp’s roster of officially sponsored athletes in London comprised of 23 athletes -- 11 cyclists from eight nations and 12 triathletes from 10 nations -- riding wheels, bars, stems or seatposts from Zipp Speed Weaponry. All of the athletes also rode SRAM RED-2012 componentry.

Zipp Speed Weaponry was founded in 1988 with the sole mission of making athletes faster on their bikes. Over the course of the last two decades, Zipp has done exactly that, by drawing on its core competencies of design engineering, composites knowledge, and wind tunnel development. It is these competencies that have allowed Zipp to deliver a series of firsts in the cycling industry. From the first carbon disc wheel to the first carbon crank to the first wheel to achieve negative drag in the wind tunnel. These firsts have helped Zipp athletes to become champions in the toughest races in the world, on the fiercest roads in the world, from the cobbled roads of Belgium to the Queen K in Kona.

Source: Zipp Speed Weaponry