In 1988, I went to my first cycling training session holding my mother’s hand. I was 12 years old, and cycling has been part of my life ever since. I wasn’t an exceptional talent, but I loved riding, racing and the friendships that came with cycling.

In 1995, I joined a club in France. Two years later, my cycling career took me to Italy, where cycling was part of the culture and attention was paid to every detail. The bikes were beautiful, the apparel was carefully considered, and function and appearance belonged naturally together. It changed the way I looked at cycling products.

Before I left Italy in 2001, someone I knew there asked what I planned to do after my racing career. He asked me a question: could cycling apparel be produced in Estonia? I was 25 and still loved cycling and racing too much to think seriously about what would come next. I had no business experience and wasn’t ready to start a company, but the idea stayed with me.

After returning to Estonia, I turned my focus to mountain biking. In 2009, I became European Mountain Bike Marathon Champion in front of my family and a home crowd. It was a special way to end my professional cycling career.

When I retired from professional cycling, I started thinking more seriously about the idea I had brought back from Italy. As an athlete, I was used to working towards the next goal, and building a cycling apparel company became a new kind of challenge.

I could not have taken that step without the support of my wife, Kristi, and my family. In the beginning, I had to learn every part of the process, from materials, printing and sewing to production planning and logistics. Over time, I found the right partners and built a team.

Estonia may not be an obvious place to make cycling apparel, but our climate has become one of our strengths. It has taught us to design for summer heat as well as the cold, wind and changing conditions of the North. Producing here keeps us close to every part of the process, while working in a small market has taught us to listen carefully and keep improving.

I am especially proud that national teams from three countries now ride in apparel we make, and our products have been worn at three Summer Olympic Games.

For me, performance is only one part of a good product. Cycling apparel should fit well, perform well and look good. What riders wear is also part of how they express themselves. This balance between function and appearance has stayed with me since my years in Italy and continues to guide how we develop Morra today.

Morra is not a new beginning. It is the next stage of moomoo, built on the knowledge, production experience and relationships we have developed over the years. It reflects who we are today.

I still think about cycling every day and ride whenever I can. It is the sport that continues to inspire me most.

Allan Oras
Founder at Morra