Matteo Trentin (CCC Team) has presented the specially decorated anti-COVID-19 shoes he will use when racing returns later in the summer.
The Sidi Shot shoes have an image of a medical worker facing up to a giant COVID-19 coronavirus molecule, designed by fantasy artist MJ Hiblen. Trentin said the shoes will be auctioned for the 'Regala un sogno' charity at the end of the 2020 season.
"I present to you my new Sidi Sport Shot that I will use for this last part of the season," Trentin wrote on an Instagram post, proudly holding up one of the shoes to show of the design.
"MJ Hiblen's design immediately struck me for the message he wanted to convey: the virus is strong but we are not intimidated. It is also a thank you to all our health workers who fought on the front lines against this new enemy."
"I can't wait to be able to use them in the race and, at the end of the season, they can be yours thanks to the charity auction of regalaunsogno.org."
Trentin joined CCC Team from Mitchelton-Scott for 2020 and last raced at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on February 29. He spent the COVID-19 lockdown with his young family in Monaco but is now back training in preparation for the rescheduled 2020 season.
Trentin is set to ride the Tour de France and the cobbled Classics, sharing team leadership with Greg van Avermaet. Like all his CCC teammates, Trentin accepted a significant cut in his salary after the CCC chain of shoe shops struggled to fund the team due to the impact of the COVID-19 coronavirus.
Last week, Jim Ochowicz was typically upbeat about finding a new sponsor and Trentin is determined to play his part in helping the team survive. He has a contract for 2021 but knows he is also riding for his own future.
"When it first came out about the sponsor it was like getting hit by lightning but the team are trying hard to continue and they’ve told us they want to carry on,” Trentin told Cyclingnews recently.
“The situation has been a bit sad because we’ve been caught up in the economic side of the coronavirus situation. The pandemic exposed all the problems that cycling has from an economic point of view. As a team we depend on a sponsor and our sponsor has thousands of shops across Europe and when they’re forced to close there is still a company that needs to be saved.
"Now I’m just focusing on the racing because that’s what I’m paid for and that’s what I like to do."
