FNB Wines2Whales on the bike apparel partners, Ciovita, create the potential for teams to stand out from the Pinotage peloton. But along with their custom and vinyl ranges the South African kit manufacturer also provides a core range of cycling jerseys, bibs and accessories.

“It’s the fourth year of our partnership with FNB Wines2Whales and the third physical edition we’ve been involved with” Ciovita CEO Andrew Gold said. “Last year we had to settle for a digital edition, so it’s fantastic to be back at Oak Valley in person again. It’s a little tricky recognising everyone behind their masks, but it’s great to reconnect with old friends and so many of our customers.”

“That, for Ciovita, is a big part of the FNB Wines2Whales’ gees! The races also brought us together with Sealand Gear, with whom we currently have a competition running. Entrants don’t have to be participants of FNB Wines2Whales even to stand a chance to win the Ultimate Adventure Hamper worth R10 000⁠” Gold continued.

“FNB Wines2Whales is an iconic event on the South African mountain biking calendar” he added. “And it’s great to see so many people riding in Ciovita products. I’ve noticed a lot of our bibs out on the trails in particular. But also, many of our custom designs and vinyl prints.”

“We launched the vinyl prints about six months ago” Gold explained. “They allow cyclists to choose items from our core range, have their logos or designed etched in vinyl and then heat applied to the garments. Vinyl printing has come a long way in recent years and the durability of the vinyl now matches a screen-printed design. It was particularly cool to see Candice Lill and Mariske Strauss racing to victory, in the Chardonnay race, wearing our vinyl branded jerseys, before they claimed the FNB W2W leader jerseys that we made.”

During the FNB Wines2Whales Pinotage event, Ciovita and Sealand are being represented by 4 teams out on the trails and many  riders have seen and been impressed by the Ciovita x Sealand collaboration in action!

For FNB Wines2Whales specific Ciovita apparel riders are encouraged to stop by the Merchandise store, in the Oak Valley and Lourensford race villages. The FNB Wines2Whales Merchandise store offers a range of branded products, in addition to the Ciovita and Sealand items. These include Veldskoen shoes and Plakkie flip flops.