Scicon, a year of glasses from the princess to Pogacar

We all know scicon as specialists in the production of travel bags for comfortably transporting bikes. Claudio Fantin (opening with the riders of the UAE), after thirty years in this world and after having made Scicon one of the leading companies in this field, he decided to move into the production of glassesA courageous choice made in 2018 and which, after a couple of years of progress and development, always under his careful supervision, has landed in the WorldTour. Scicon began supplying eyewear to three teams in 2020: Ntt Pro Cycling Team (now Qhubeka Next Hash), Israel Start Up Nation e UAE Tam Emirates.

Claudio, when were the first Scicon glasses created?

In Monte Carlo, when Princess Charlene asked me to make a frame for a water bike event that would take participants from Nice to the Principality. So, somewhat by chance, the idea for the first pair of glasses was born, and on a wave of enthusiasm, we launched ourselves into this world.

How did you manage to provide such important teams right from the start?

With the team UAE thanks to the trust received from Giannetti, while we already had a collaboration with NTT and Israel at the beginning of 2020. With NTT we won the European Championship and the Italian Championship with Nizzolo, our season had already started off great…

Then the Tour with Pogacar

I wasn't expecting that, everything was perfect. At the beginning of the Tour we supplied the team with only three pieces of our new model, Aeroshade and we had given them to Kristoff, Formolo and pogacar. Then to Nice, Kristoff won the sprint and took the yellow jersey…There I said to myself: "Enough, I can close the photo album." Instead, Tadej gave us the final triumph. I must admit I was moved by that occasion; it was a riot of emotions.

How do you start developing a model?

I'll give you the most recent example: the glasses Pogacar wore to win the Lombardia are the prototype of a new model. We start by letting the rider try it out in a meeting moment, not necessarily planned, in that case it was in Trento for the Europeans. Tadej gave us some initial feedback and we worked on that.Then we met again in Leuven, at the World Championships, and we did the same thing. So finally he was able to race at the Lombardy for the first time.

How many road tests do you do before going racing?

I riders are very curious people and they take training as a time to test new products. From the very first outings they take the measure and give us ideas to work onThe race, however, is the final test. If a rider wins, it means you've worked well, because all the details contribute to the final victory.

In short, we start from far away

We start from afar and from aesthetics. The way the rider sees himself with those glasses on is very important, almost as much as the technique.. For us iffundamental feedback they are not those taken individually, but those during convivial momentsWhile the riders talk among themselves, perhaps over a pizza, they say things that you have to be good at picking up.

However, not all riders have the same needs.

No, they are very different. For example Froome is a very technical guy and pays attention to detail.. Detailed modifications are made for him. It's called ultra-racing., or modifications that aren't commercially available. Runners have different physiques, and in this case, the aim is to make the product "elastic," meaning wearable by everyone. By listening to the needs of just one rider, the glasses would be made wearable for one, it is up to us to create a multipurpose model.

How are “supplies” organized?

Let's go to training camp at the beginning of the season and we perform eye exams on the entire team and staff because we provide glasses for everyone. A team consists of 120 people including the riders.We usually bring an optician to these meetings to do visits and understand how many frames are needed or how to work with running glasses.

Lots of work…

We're always going at a thousand miles an hour, but that's how it works if you want to stay at the top level.

Which are the most “complicated” riders?

Those who are those forced to wear contact lenses while running have different needsRunners generally try not to wear them, but that's not always possible, and in that case, we intervene. The real problem for those who wear prescription lenses is that after 6-7 hours they dry outIn that case, larger racing lenses are made, but the risk of fogging increases, so openings are placed on the temples…