Lyon Equipment has announced that top British climber Dave MacLeod is signing as an ambassador for La Sportiva footwear.

A true all-rounder, MacLeod has a string of outstanding ascents to his name and has been pushing the upper limits of bouldering, rock and winter climbing for many years. Hugely experienced and focused, he has been the subject of numerous films and is now a filmmaker in his own right. Having completed a Sport Science MSc, MacLeod has also researched and written books on climbing training and injury considered to be the ‘bibles’ in the genre.

MacLeod has confirmed that he is making the move to La Sportiva footwear, citing the Italian brand’s ambition, technical ability and the breadth of its range across all climbing disciplines. He comments, “Footwear has always been my biggest obsession in climbing equipment, so I’m delighted to join the team at La Sportiva. In fact, I’m pretty humbled to join the list of amazing top climbers around the world who are climbing in La Sportiva. I’ve always been about finding my limits in all aspects of climbing and when it comes to footwear, particularly rock shoes, you really rely on the quality of the shoe to get the most out of your body’s abilities. The integration between you and your rock shoe literally becomes part of how you move on rock.

“I’ve obviously tried countless different designs over my twenty years in climbing so far, and never tire of thinking of ideas to perfect footwear for climbing, because it makes such a huge difference to what you can climb. So the best situation is to be working with a company who have a track record for excellence in design, construction and innovation in climbing footwear. Let’s see what I can climb in them!”

For Lyon Equipment, Paul Cornthwaite said; “We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Dave into the Lyon athletes team. Dave is a high end, high profile, very influential climber who brings a deep understanding of product design and performance; he will be a real asset now and in the future.”