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Happy New Kit!

Just back from the mountains, where I learned that just because Nordic skiing and cycling go so well together, and that I do a lot of cycling, doesn't mean I am any good at all on a pair of skate skis...

Watching the laatste ronden from the weekend, and I noticed that Sven Nys is either running his rivals through toxic waste or his kit has changed colors. And then I remembered... January 1. New year. Everything about last year can finally be tucked away, officially speaking. Philippe Gilbert doesn't have to train in his Omega Pharma kit. New clothes are changing hands throughout the world of pro cycling as pretty much everyone is required to start sporting the new version pronto, so the new sponsors will know where their money has gone. Struggle_session_poster_1_medium

That means you guys are on high alert for new kit sightings. Feel free to submit them here (in the next 24 hours) or in a stand-alone (as they trickle in later) for proper criticism. All kits must be thoroughly criticized if we are to strengthen the cycling kit design revolution. So be a good comrade, don't give in to reactionary temptations, and join in the cycling fashion New Year's fun!

[And remember, kit designers are people too, which means they have feelings and they probably work for someone (like, I dunno, a DS?) who may or may not have good taste and conflicting priorities.]

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Comments

And now...

I’ve found one. Cav in his rainbow. Absolutely lacking in innovation, but I suppose he was going for a full-on traditional look?

Well, to be fair, the rainbow jersey is quite strictly governed. And one good thing about Sky is how they have remained utterly classy and traditional in their national champions’ jerseys.

Black shorts, too!
I know, boring, get some white ones in there
yep

looks like it’s supposed to. an regarding the black shorts, maybe those are just some training tights. still a chance the race shorts could be white.

I'm becoming increasingly concerned

that you are slowly morphing into a norwegian. The salmon, the cx skiing…… you’re browsing for comfy knitted sweaters in traditional patterns online right now aren’t you?

din luftputefartøy er full av ål

Stybar and his pink hat:

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/379038_2880231455252_1544017772_2741202_1926880436_n.jpg

I will never get tired of

This Big Pink Hat photo!

(Really don’t like Sven Nys’ new kit… the old dark green was so classy, but this lighter shade? Here’s to seeing Nys in Belgian jersey, or Worlds stripes to escape it!)

I don't like the kermit green but neither do I want Sven in Belgian or worlds colours!

#StybyNielsFTW

I don't know if it's news

But Radioshack have their team presentation on Friday, I hope it will be shown live like last year.
http://www.radioshacknissantrek.com/

Looks like red is out, light blue and black still in - atleast on their website.
Hey

they got the little “underlined O” thing as an icon next to their URL. How come we can’t do that with the \o/ ?

heh

I think slashes are a problem in URLs.

He means the shortcut icon in the browser address box

I managed it at the VDS website: http://www.podiumcafevds.com/

oh

right, I guess that’s not read as text, just graphical.

There's bland and then there's very, very bad.

tumblr_lx4rah6gIG1qacyk6o1_500
This is truly abysmal:
tumblr_lx4etldpqz1qacyk6o1_500

BMC kit seems otherwise unchanged

at least in this first shot of Pinotti in BMC training jacket

Happy new 2012! @BMCProteam on Twitpic

bring back the old Assos BMC kit (white/black simple and elegant)

The red superhero thights are horrible

I don’t Tombo’s kit though. It’s growing on me.

Agreed on the superhero tights. The normal team shorts would be a better match than the all-scarlet Human Torch look.

vast improvement is vast.

This is on its way to being the first bad Belgian champs’ jersey in a long time.

the glowing wrist bands are great

(I like his 2011 kit better)

they can repel bullets

just like Wonder Woman’s

Omega:

Are you looking at the man or the jersey?

The jersey

You know I’ve always liked the man :)

guess we'll be seeing even, um, more of Phil this year.
yeah the Omega is ugly
wow

did he steal Wonder Woman’s bracelets?

reflective strips on the cuffs . . .
people don't understand

Gilbert is Gilbert, that means he doesn’t follow the trend, he sets the trend. Get with it people.

So are you saying you have a beige suit?
hahaha briljant!

well I would if I were Gilbert! I actually like that suit (dodging rocks). Problem is I’m not Gilbert and I’d look terrible in it ;)

Team Red Tights, majope...?
Cover your eyes.

1234-tight-shorts

Did you really have to????!!!

AAAaaaAAAaaargh!

the one in the middle looks like he has two
Blimey...the mind boggles
that's hot

but red should be where white is and vv

Pfft

they obviously haven’t been riding long enough.

"Long enough" is a matter of personal preference.
Vacansoleil familiar & recognisable

but a little more white. Not necessarily an improvement in my view.

In dit tenue zien we Johnny Hoogerland en zijn ploegmaten van... on Twitpic

well, lets just say the jersey is not the reason I support the team.
It's so...busy.
I liked it way better beofre
Contador with new Saxo kit and a scarf:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/402751_217971731618537_100002171349879_489013_864475351_n.jpg

Guess it's not that bad in real life, despite the bellybutton eagle.

I guess having seen Phil Gil, there are worse things than shorts that don’t coordinate/complete the design of the jersey.

I like that new Saxo kit.

That particular blue is one of my favs.

And the "crotch eagle"

with the wing wrapped around? I think it works.

I love the Angry Crotch Eagle!
Meh

That sort of thing sells at the LBS but it looks cartoonish to me.

I should probably have made it clear that I love it in a ridiculous way!

My ideal kit would be either total classy minimalism, or as many nutty elements as possible, ideally in fluorescents!

OK

In that case I can relate.

Mapei to you, too, then.
The Viper kit in Cat!!
and the psychedelic one designed to hurt the eyes of everyone else!
I wonder why

the Eagle is so angry?

it also had the steak
have you ever seen an eagle that looks like a labrador puppy?
It's not angry, it's confused

You would be too if you were in that location!

my favorite new kit so far.

I sort of like but the white shorts terrify me

I hope we'll see this one a lot in 2012

They have a very interesting team this year

dunno, it sort of looks scrappy somehow.
Traditional FdJ kit, no?
probably. Seem to recall it a bit cleaner.

New secondary sponsor’s logos to accommodate. The FDJ on the back used to be on the shorts, leaving the four-leafed clover design clean and pure. Still, the best jersey in the péloton.

Will – do we know if they’re going with blue shorts to start the season? They have done pretty much every year lately, navy, then blue shorts in the early season, switching to white after March is over pretty much.

I love the jersey when the clover covered the whole back and nothing else...nice helmets too.

I’m in favour of the shift to the new kit, with the blue background and white cloverleaf. with the cleaner front. It’s just a shame they had to get a secondary sponsor to clutter up the traditionally awesome FDJ kits.

I don'"t know if they're using blue. Just saw this somewhere as there 2012 kit
I love their blue spring shorts.
Don't forget our favorite team (name):

Somehow that logo reminds me of this:

Belgian trance :|

I like the jersey

the black on the shorts is bizarrely shaped, like a waiter apron

or a diaper
Who knows perhaps this is the sponsor:

The one thing about this kit (assuming it isn't changed mid-season), is we're bound to see some wins from their sprinters...

if they land invites.

Kittel may give Cance a run for his money...

tumblr_lx51vt2DaT1qacyk6o1_500

whoa that’s good

I'm still Having a hard time

I can’t believe that this is the final version!
Perhaps a late sponsor intro will save us?

According to the team it is temporary until sometime March/April

when the name of the sponsor will be announced.

A new kid, not a new kit

Little Zabel in Rabo colours

last year's?

or just no changes?

No changes I believe

Rabo is pretty conservative

It's a good look

So no change needed.

I quite like this, but maybe the wearer has something to do with it.
Agree, its a nice deep red version at least on this pic.
And Kristoff in the first ever dud of a Norwegian champs jersey

But, for... why? How?

How did they manage to fuck that one up so badly?!

Only way to make it worse would be red shorts and legwarmers
Katusha has made f-ing up national jerseys an art.
you didn't like this?

er

this:

love that kit!
indeed

but the black version he wore at Paris-Roubaix was too much.

One word: assflag
I loved the version with the balaclava he wore for the Boonen and Friends cross
amen brother
It has a certain look

I call it “Bellagio chic”

That version was cool. The first version with the red patterned shorts and the bottom half of the jersey red? That was horrible.

Kushchynski’s Belarus national kit was good too.

But seriously how the hell do you f up a Norwegian champion’s jersey? The Scandinavian champions’ jerseys are like, the easiest ones to make look cool. You have to work seriously hard on making it look terrible. Katyusha have obviously put almost as much thought into that as Leopard Trek did with Cancellara’s woeful Swiss kit.

I thought that first version of the jersey was brilliant, with the green outline of the Kremlin

What country is Pliushkin from?

his jersey was great too

I know! It's like the Swiss jersey, should be impossible to mess up!

Two words: Leopard Trek

I like it

Doesn’t have to be all flag for me.

more dopeness

they’ve managed to get the whole flag in there, and yet still have it look innovative. Plus white shorts.

Improved

But I hope he had someone picking him up before that storm hit.

Is the jersey red different from the short's red?

On another note, did you see inrng’s post on the team management background. Kinda interesting…

I miss the red square
World Champ!

phoney baloney
eh?
The day he rides a TT in a flappy jersey and bibs I'll respect that pic

(pet peeve: fake national TT champs jerseys for team pics. HTC were the masters of it)

Why are the stripes covered?

Boooooooo

Is the clock in the middle the thing they HAVE to have?

or is it something they’ve chosen?

Either way, WTF? Don’t get it – he’ll only wear it in TTs, and it’ll be obvious who he is then!

(took me a while to realise it was a clock, d’oh! Thought it was a cute alien!)

Ok, I know Cance's other assets can be distracting

but the clock has always been there. It’s a UCI thing.

That's possibly why I've never noticed it!
A cute alien? Hahahaha, I like that idea far better :)
it gets a bit busy with the 4 sponsors on the front.

However I will be looking forward to the upcoming TT battles involving T-Mart in the rainbow jersey.

No no no no no no no

They’re getting everything wrong this year

Watching the CX documentary?

Brilliant episode!

No

recording it though. Haven’t seen last week’s yet. What’s this week’s episode about?

Bieken bribing and Koksyde 94

I’m laughing out loud every 2 minutes

and mini Wellens (12y/o?)
CRAP!

Missed it. Ah well, first episode was on cyclingtorrents pretty quickly.

this one's a must see
is that Visconti's jersey? He's the Italian champ, right?
And doesn't it just look like

something his mum sewed for him from scraps of material she had lying around

Si


^ good Italian jersey

Movistar's past national champ jerseys were pretty bad too:

The Spanish champs is another of those jerseys that should be impossible to mess up...
The more like a fireball the better!
hm

the green looks a little too Kelly green for Italy. Otherwise, basic tricolore, no complaints.

Unfortunately that was last year's Italian jersey

this year is the Movistar Monstrocity posted above

(but not a good crosser ;)
not really, no

cute smile though

As long as he was having fun :)
He winked at me

so he had the time of his life ;)

He winked?! You didn't tell me this. Was it a suggestive wink? ;)
Told you you should've come over...
So it WAS a suggestive wink! Ha!

I’m coming this year. You have a couch, yes?

Suitable for fainting
Excellent. And sleeping upon I hope?
Isn't someone picky?
Yes

Tuttobiciweb use the word “polemica”.

With the current state of affair in Italy, Movistar may have to bail the entire state

shortly. This jersey is just a pre-cursor.

another good one

luv it

Well, it’s better than last year’s Rojas jersey… that’s about all I can say for it though. Hopefully the Italian authorities have Eusebio Unzué on speed dial after all the toing and froing on Valverde, and can tell him to sort it out pronto.

Well, I hope the racing will be better than the kits so far...
btw seriously jealous of skiing Chris
heh
4+ hour drive so we're not exactly spoiled. But Washington is a good skiing state.
Donde esta Lampre?
hm

nothing on their site or La Gazzetta yet.

Yeah as I've officially made the transition to a Wilier

guy, I must see it.

Cool!

You and Jen can form a Cunego rooting party.

Somebody had a twitpic of Vigano in it...can't recall who posted it though!

Looked to have more pink on the shorts

I love this one

welcome to the Giro, please....
Oh, that one is excellent
Pippo!

MY EYES, MY EYES
It's Farnese Vini

we were warned. There seems to be an Italian law requiring one neon green kit at the top level of cycling.

this dude is awesome

how involved is Cipo with these guys anyways? if so I predict PP as baddest man in peloton this spring

Didn't Katusha hire Cipo last year to try and help Pippo?
Either Farnese Vini haven't changed, or this is Pippo in last year's jersey

cos it looks identical to the 2011 one I have, even sponsor placings.

Cipo isn’t really involved in the team goings on btw – hence why despite his bike company being with Farnese Vini, he was offering his personal services to Katusha.

The jersey 'you have'?

Oh Ike :)

It's dark 9 months of the year here - I needed a jersey "to be seen"!!!

And now I have my PdC kit for the 6 sunny days of the year too.

So you couldn’t get an Andalucía-Caja Sur cerise one in the end then?

I really wanted one of those

it was nothing on the Kaiku one of course.

Alas no, they only had them in Spanish-climby-people sizes,

not Scottish I-built-my-own-garden-wall sizes.

Plus I decided if I was going to go for pink, an ONCE-Eroski Joseba Beloki tribute jersey would be more appropriate.

Movistar team kit now officially revealed

White stripes on shorts and now on both sides of the jersey seems only changes

I like the sides better. I wasn't a massive fan of the stripey bit down the one side
wait, shouldn't av's jersey sleeve have the spanish champ bands (since, you know, he was one?)
Yes

but ‘team presentation’ was not the event in which he was Spanish champion.

oh, if only national bands could be given out for best presentations. I think Thor could get rainbow bands for Team Presentation at the Tour last year.

Hey!

Should I put on my special color bands indicating my championship of cycling fashion commentary, won back in 2007?

Depends on what colour those are, and whether they accentuate your usual cycling fashion commentary apparel or detract from the ensemble.

Surely if they are colour bands celebrating his fashion sense

they come in several different versions for maximum coordination?

A mild improvement. Mild.
I approve of this over last year's skinny stripe...

The shoulder thing is kind of cool. But the rest of the jersey should be proper Spanish flags. What’s up with these guys since they became Movistar? The old Spanish kits they did for Purito, Guti and Plaza were amazing.

I add that this improvement (which is mighty) raises the rating of this jersey to a massive 0,75 out of 10.

Oh dear...

tumblr_lxdwsxIdFO1qacyk6o1_r1_500

Yeah.... what is up with that?

I got it last year that they took the blue from the Lux. flag…. but now they’re just adding Radioshack red to complete it?

I don’t even understand why the team is such a “lux” team anyway, other than Andy and Frank are on it. Seems weird to me that now everyone will be wearing the Luxembourg flag. What’s the national jersey going to look like?

If I was Radioshack and Nissan, I’d be a little unhappy with my “top sponsor” dollars…. they probably employ almost as many people as live in Luxembourg!

Quite possibly the worst of the lot. It’s like they’ve taken Fränk’s jersey and just C+Ped the Radioshack logo over one of the stripes, even though it doesn’t actually fit, and then added the yellow Livestrong band.

On the plus side, given that the whole lot of them will look like they’re wearing Luxembourg champions’ kits, doesn’t that mean Fränk will have to have a proper national champion’s kit?

Speaking of national jerseys, isn’t Cancellara the Swiss champion? What happened to his Swiss kit?

you don't want to know

I’m envisioning something so bad it makes Rojas’ jersey look worth winning. The Swiss jersey, like the Norwegian, should be impossible to screw up. Leopard found a way, but only because they were totally soulless.

Now, the combined forces make them both soulless and evil, so they probably take delight in rubbish champion’s jerseys.

some teams fuck up nat champs' jerseys

others (rsnt, which is short for resent, i think) managed to not only fuck fab’s up, but at the same time, they made the non-nat champ jerseys look like nat champ jerseys, thereby not only making fab’s jersey shitty, but also making it not stand out. they’ve taken it to the next level.

Fränk’s looks even worse, because it doesn’t even look like a national champion’s jersey. It just looks like a bad photoshop job of inserting a coloured Radioshack band into last year’s kit.

They fucked up Busche's one just as bad

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