With the 2023 Tour de France just around the corner, many teams are unveiling new looks ahead of the biggest bike race in the world, using the opportunity to shake things up.
The reason behind the new kit designs ranges from a simple sponsorship refresh to team history tributes. Teams sporting predominantly yellow on their uniforms such as Uno X and Jumbo-Visma have had to change colours ahead of the French grand tour, out of respect for the coveted leaders jersey, the maillot jaune.
Before racing kicks off on the first of July, we thought we would take a closer look at some of the new Tour de France threads, and give our hot or not opinion.
BORA-Hansgrohe
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In honour of the 10th anniversary of the team’s first appearance at the Tour, team Bora will be riding an outfit that honours the team’s legacy over the past decade. The team has switched out its patchwork colour scheme for a showstopping marine green gradient.
Clothing sponsor, Le Col, has designed the kit around the team’s ‘Band of Brothers’ mantra. A closer look at the jersey reveals the names of all the riders who have ridden the Tour in Bora-Hansgrohe colours over the last decade – an admirable touch we think.
It also, usefully, is a different shade of green to the new green jersey.
Le Col also says the jersey is ‘engineered to prioritise speed, with strategically placed tripping panels to help smooth airflow and reduce drag when riding at pace’. This should help the likes of Jai Hindley get through those long fast stages that little bit easier.
The new design from the German cycling world tour team is, we think, a winner. Subtle hints to the teams past, coupled with a beautiful new colourway earns the Le Col kit an 8/10.
Jumbo-Visma
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The defending champions Jumbo-Visma will once again be swapping out the prominent yellow and black outfit for a design that should see no confusion with the maillot jaune.
The new Jumbo jerseys feature a mostly black design, with constellations along with a map of France across the chest. Another smart uniform – but the likes of Jonas Vingegaard will certainly be hoping the darker outfit won’t harbor too much heat in the high mountains.
Team sponsor Agu has partnered with a theme park in the Netherlands, Efteling, to create an outfit inspired by the story ‘The Vélodrome, the story Ride your dreams’. Efteling…