K-Way® has extended its partnership with K-Challenge, widening a deal that began in 2022 to cover the French sports technology organisation's entire operation as it builds towards the 38th America's Cup in Naples in 2027.
The French clothing brand, owned by the BasicNet Group, backed K-Challenge through its Barcelona campaign in 2024. That support continues now, on a much bigger scale.
K-Way® will remain alongside La Roche-Posay Racing Team, the French Challenger representing the Société Nautique de Saint-Tropez, through its preparations for Naples. That much was expected. What's new is the scope of the deal.
The agreement now stretches across the whole K-Challenge platform, not just the America's Cup boat, taking in K-Challenge Racing, Akademy K-Challenge and K-Challenge Lab. Athletes, engineers, technicians and designers are covered, not just the sailors on the water.
K-Way® isn't just handing over branded kit here. Each collection comes out of close work between athletes, K-Challenge's technical staff and K-Way®'s own product development teams, with gear built to evolve as the programmes do.
The demands differ wildly depending on the discipline. SailGP crews race year-round across very different climates, from the cold of Canada to the heat of Australia, so their kit needs to protect without weighing them down or overheating them.
The America's Cup brings its own rulebook. The Protocol calls for highly technical safety gear, lifejackets, helmets, protective equipment and masks among them, each customised to an individual sailor's build and role on board.
This joint approach isn't limited to the crew either. Shore teams, boat prep staff and support personnel get clothing designed around their own working conditions, with durability, freedom of movement and ergonomics shaped directly by feedback from the people using it.
There's a fan-facing side to this too. A merchandise range is planned, drawing on K-Challenge, La Roche-Posay Racing Team and K-Way®'s design language, giving supporters a way to follow the French team's push towards Naples 2027. Launch is pencilled in for 2027, with details to be confirmed.
K-Way® traces its roots back to Paris in 1965, built on the idea of light, functional, instantly recognisable weather protection. That link to wind and water sits naturally alongside elite sailing, which is part of why this partnership has stuck.
Naples carries some symbolic weight too. It's in Italy, the birthplace of the BasicNet Group, which makes the venue for the 38th America's Cup feel like something of a homecoming for the brand.
Stephan Kandler, Founder and CEO of K-Challenge, said: "K-Way® was one of the first partners to believe in our return to the America's Cup. Its commitment from 2022 supported an important stage in our story, and we are particularly pleased to continue this adventure together today."
He added: "This new collaboration goes well beyond equipping La Roche-Posay Racing Team for the 38th America's Cup. It covers the entire K-Challenge platform and is based on a genuine process of joint development. Our athletes, technicians and various departments work directly with K-Way®'s product development teams to design clothing suited to their roles, practical needs and the conditions in which they operate. It is this ability to listen, test and develop the products that gives the partnership its depth."
Lorenzo Boglione, CEO of the BasicNet Group, said: "Renewing our partnership with La Roche-Posay Racing Team for a second America's Cup campaign is a natural continuation of a relationship built on shared values and a strong affinity with the world of water."
"Water, wind and protection are integral to K-Way®'s DNA. The America's Cup therefore provides an exceptional setting in which to test our expertise, materials and technologies in the most demanding conditions. This experience at the highest level directly informs our ability to innovate and allows us to transfer solutions developed for performance into products designed for everyday life."
He finished: "We are particularly pleased to continue this adventure in Naples, a city deeply connected to the sea and driven by a distinctive energy. We look forward to continuing to write this story alongside La Roche-Posay Racing Team."
