The cycling world has almost somewhat accustomed to seeing a new, eye-catching and slightly garish EF Pro Cycling kit rolled out for a Grand Tour over the last few seasons. Originally it was down to the fact the team kit clashed with the Maglia Rosa leader’s jersey at the Giro d ‘Italia and an alternative was needed.
Last year’s Palace collaboration caused something of a stir and most of us have been waiting to see what Rapha and Cannondale would have in store this year. The teams are set to roll out a newly designed patchwork kit that features 72% recycled materials in a nod to sustainability and the team’s greener future initiatives.
As the Italian grand tour’s start looms, Cannondale does indeed have an announcement to make regarding the team’s bikes for the race, and it’s a pretty exciting one.
This year at the Giro d’Italian the EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-TIBCO-SVB teams will be racing in Rapha team kit that has been produced using upcycled materials that would have otherwise gone to landfill.
This focus has extended to the bikes the teams will race on as well. No new team bikes have been produced for the race. (Teams are often provided with brand-new equipment for big races). The teams will instead race on repurposed LAB71 Supersix Evo frames that have been hand-painted using excess paint. We understand each frame is hand painted and no two riders’ bikes will be the same.
The frames are all finished in bright and eye-catching colours in almost a tie-dye style. And it looks like some paint has been removed or layered in areas to give the look of a worn frame that shows old layers of paint underneath. The painters, Doktor Bobby (opens in new tab) with help from Tim Wilkey (opens in new tab), must have had to watch the amount of paint they used to avoid ending up with heavy frames.
Unfortunately and we feel a lot of Cannondale fans may be disappointed with this news, the frames are team only and will not be available for sale or purchase. So if you fall in love with a particular paint job your going to need to get your masking tape and rattle can out.
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