USA Nordic Athletes Showcase New Podiumwear Uniforms
PARK CITY, Utah (Dec. 21, 2020) – USA Nordic athletes around the globe are kicking off their international competition tours this month showcasing new team uniforms from American manufacturer Podiumwear. This past weekend the uniforms were featured on U.S. athletes FIS Nordic Combined World Cup tour in Ramsau, Austria and FIS Ski Jumping World Cup in Engelberg, Switzerland. Earlier this month, U.S. athletes had a strongshowing at the opening FIS Nordic Combined Continental Cup in Utah.
Podiumwear is providing outerwear for both ski jumping and nordic combined, as well as cross country racing suits for combined athletes. The USA Nordic competition racing suits from Podiumwear blend the performance requirements necessary to help athletes achieve success, with the design elements to make them stand out.
“USA Nordic’s designs are always eye-catching and the team is full of energetic young stars,” said Podiumwear CEO Reid Lutter. “We’ve loved supporting USA Nordic for the last three seasons as we can see the difference we can make with the team.”
A longtime cross country ski racer himself, Lutter started Podiumwear in 2003 to bring a new quality level to cross country apparel from an athlete’s perspective. Fans can now purchase their own versions of the USA Nordic uniforms including team racing suits, jackets, vests and hats at the Podiumwear online store.
The subtle but stunning design was a collaboration between nordic combined coach Nick Hendrickson and Garen Riedel, a noted brand designer whose Riedel Design is based in Park City, Utah, the home of USA Nordic.
“Nick’s vision was to have suits that unified the team in their pursuit of goals,” said Riedel. “They’re the underdogs but they’re moving to the top.”
Riedel put the vision into play with a black uniform with light lines of a topographic map overlay featuring USA iconography accents.
“It’s a clean graphical look – something that stands apart from the competition,” said Riedel, who is a passionate athlete himself – a world class triathlete – who moved to the mountains to be closer to skiing and outdoor recreation.
The subtle look has attracted attention from other teams in the opening month of the season.
USA Nordic skiers in their new Podiumwear uniforms chase down an Austrian skier in the FIS Nordic Combined World Cup. (Mackenzie Moran/USA Nordic)
“Podiumwear has worked well for our USA Nordic program because it is a company that truly understands the unique needs of nordic sport athletes,” said Olympic champion and USA Nordic President and CEO Bill Demong. “Our partnership with Garen Riedel has created a stunning look for our athletes, while Podiumwear has built the clothing to meet the high demands of competition and training wear.”
USA Nordic’s teams can be seen in action most weekends during the season on NBC’s Peacock TV while competing on the World Cup tour across Europe. The season will be highlighted with the FIS Nordic Ski World Championships this February in Germany.
About Podiumwear
Podiumwear Custom Sports Apparel is the leading manufacturer of custom nordic team apparel in North America. All Podiumwear products are made with pride by a team of professionals at the Podiumwear factory in St. Paul, Minnesota. In addition to nordic skiing apparel, Podiumwear also manufactures team apparel for cycling, running and soccer.
About USA Nordic
USA Nordic is the national leadership organization for nordic combined and ski jumping in the United States, providing support and guidance to the nations’ clubs and coaches while overseeing the national elite teams. To stay connected, please visit www.usanordic.org.
