As Cyclingnews resident fashion correspondent, there are two events early on in the calendar that are cause for excitement. First up is the release of the new team kits, which I ranked with the help of my mother, because why not? The second is the inevitable EF Education-Easypost switch-out kit for the Giro d'Italia. Given the men's and women's teams both race in pink it would be somewhat confusing as the leader's jersey for the race is also pink, so each year the teams rock up in something bewildering. It's a time cycling fashionistas dream about: Any dream will do?
In the past, we've had the infamous, insane Palace collaboration, complete with duck-themed TT helmets, and some more subdued, kaleidoscopic prints. This year we're being treated to a kit from the scraps bin; it seems the cost of living crisis is hitting everyone.
Joking aside, waste in manufacturing is a worthy issue to try and rectify in any way, especially the textile industry. EF has tackled this in the past with compostable bottles, and now they've got a kit pieced together from 72% excess material, creating a patchwork, Joseph-and-the-Technicolour-Dreamcoat vibe for the teams to race in for three weeks. Sadly there aren't any Josephs on the team roster which severely limits my pun potential for all of you musical fans... Neilson of the King Powless?
There's no gravel on this year's Giro route either so I can't even shoehorn Grovel, Grovel/Gravel, Gravel in! (Even if I just did)
In a departure from switchouts gone by, this kit won't be commercially available, presumably because there just aren't enough team-branded offcuts to make sufficient quantity. However, alongside the unveiling of EF's new kit, there will be the "Excess Collection", with a similar vibe (minus the sponsor decals), and made entirely from offcuts and excess fabric, including Pro Team Bib Shorts, Pro Team Aero Jerseys, Pro Team Training Jerseys, T-shirts, socks and musettes.
Where does it rank in the grand scheme of the World Tour team kits? I think, like Flowers by Miley Cyrus, this is straight to number one in the charts. Given that I wasn't as much a fan of this season's pink as last season's, it's got significantly more pop with the extra colours. For tech fans, there's also a switch-out paint scheme for the teams' Cannondale Supersix Evo race bikes, painted using excess paint.
I know you're all dying to know what my beloved Mother thinks of the kit (after her divisive cameo in our 2023 kit ranking), and at the 11th hour - in her defence she does go cycling on Wednesdays with her pals to get cake - her response is in:
"I applaud the reduction in waste idea even though it is a Battenberg cake vibe. They have put the right colour combinations together for the camera, left side Ukraine, right side a nod to this year's kit."
