HELLY HANSEN AND GUYOT ENVIRONNEMENT – TEAM EUROPE ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP FOR THE OCEAN RACE 2022-23

Helly Hansen and GUYOT environnement – Team Europe are proud to announce their partnership for The Ocean Race 2022-23. As an official clothing supplier, the leading global sailing brand will provide the IMOCA team with professional-grade, performance-driven gear as they take on what’s often described as sailing’s toughest team challenge.

“The Ocean Race is one of the longest and toughest professional sporting events in the world, pushing professional sailors to their limits in some of the harshest offshore conditions,” said Michael Uhl, VP of Marketing and Brand Partnerships at Helly Hansen. “We are excited to partner with GUYOT environnement – Team Europe, and we are committed to providing this international team of top athletes with the highest quality technical gear to give them the edge over their competitors as they race around the world.”

GUYOT environnement – Team Europe reunites the French ocean sailor Benjamin Dutreux and the Offshore Team Germany Olympic sailor Robert Stanjek. It is the relaunch of a successful cooperation, a team of friends that culminated in a surprising victory in the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe in 2021. Led by co-skippers Dutreux and Stanjek, international sailors with different backgrounds – including Annie Lush (UK), Philip Kasüske (DE), Sébastien Simon (FR), and Támara Echegoyen (ES) – are working together, using their individual skills to tackle the ultimate ocean marathon in the world’s toughest waters. All sailors will start together on the former HUGO BOSS 6, which has just proven its reliability in the solo Atlantic race Route du Rhum with Benjamin Dutreux at the helm.

A global leader in technical sailing apparel and official partner of the team, Helly Hansen works closely with professionals all over the world, drawing on their insight and feedback to create gear with innovation, high performance, and protection at the forefront. The Norwegian-based brand has been an official apparel sponsor for teams competing in The Ocean Race since the initial event nearly 50 years ago, and this year, Helly Hansen is also the Official Clothing Supplier to The Ocean Race. Partnering with members of the Race alongside GUYOT environnement – Team Europe’s top professional athletes, Helly Hansen will continue to take inspiration from their experience to create gear that pushes the performance boundaries of the sport while also providing maximum protection in extreme conditions.

The sailors will be provided with pinnacle pieces from Helly Hansen’s premium Ægir offshore collection. The Ægir collection is the direct result of over 40 years of design improvements alongside The Ocean Race teams, and Helly Hansen’s designers will continue to work closely with the team to refine and test new features and designs.

“For us as a team, it is important to make a statement to the outside world as well. The high-quality and innovative clothing from Helly Hansen is a crucial key to creating a high identity factor in addition to reliability,” says team manager Jens Kuphal and Robert Stanjek adds, “In a Round the World Race, you sail through all climate zones from tropical heat to Antarctic cold. It gets sporty and wet for the sailors on the IMOCA Open 60. You really need reliable clothing to perform. We’ve already had the best experience with Helly Hansen clothing in The Ocean Race Europe.”

GUYOT environnement – Team Europe will join the other IMOCA competitors on the starting line of The Ocean Race in Alicante, Spain on January 15, 2023. The Race will visit nine iconic international cities over a six-month period, concluding in Genova, Italy in July.

To find out more about the partnership between Helly Hansen and The Ocean Race, visit hellyhansen.com/the-ocean-race and learn more about past participation in The Ocean Race at hellyhansen.com/news. Explore Helly Hansen’s existing Ægir offshore collection at hellyhansen.com.

(Image, above: Co-skipper Robert Stanjek, GER)