Dear readers, as I’m sure you already know, ‘tis the season.
No, not that season – that's not for another week or so. I’m talking about new kit season, the time of year when all the pro teams release their updated threads ahead of next year’s campaign.
You’ll have seen the pictures, I’m sure. Gone are the days when a rider would pose as if taking a corporate headshot – arms folded, body at an angle, eyes staring down the camera. Now, teams are getting creative. Let me tell you about my favourites so far.
First there was Lidl-Trek. In homage to their supermarket sponsor, they released their kit last week with a photo of sprinter Clara Copponi pouting in the fruit and veg aisle, a yellow shopping bag draped over her shoulder.
FDJ-Suez was the next one that stood out to me. I’ve always been a fan of their red, white and blue get-up – they won the kit ranking in our magazine last year – and this time round the team has taken the vibe to a new level.
In their release, the French team shared a photo of Évita Muzic, dressed in the new jersey, which she had paired in an outfit with blue jeans and a white jacket, worn off-the-shoulder. La classe.
Bora-Hansgrohe kept it more traditional, at least insofar as their riders wore bib shorts, too. The team’s promo shots had a dramatic feel to them, with four riders posing moodily around Primož Roglič, set to a deep red background. It’s the sort of image you’d expect to see on the X-Factor, introducing a boyband who were put together after the auditions and are now thriving in the live shows.
Finally, the last kit announcement I want to draw to your attention is that of UAE Team Emirates. We’ll ignore the dizzying blur effect that has been added to the photos, and focus on one key thing: Tadej Pogačar is wearing white bib shorts.
Last week, I questioned the world champion’s music taste in his Spotify Wrapped, but it seems the two of us have now found common ground. I have always said that, if/when I become the best cyclist in the world, I, too, will wear white bib shorts. Fingers crossed mine won’t appear to have a sewn-in nappy like poor Tadej’s.
Elsewhere on social media this week, Mathieu van der Poel scores a three-pointer, Thomas De Gendt fears crashing indoors, and we meet the Tour Down Under’s new mascot.
1. Introducing the new underwear stitch, guaranteed to save you 10 watts at 45km/h
🌈 What happened in 2024 was incredible. Not content with the Giro d’Italia and the Tour de France, @TamauPogi claimed the rainbow jersey for the first time.For 2025, Tadej will hit the roads with a new white hybrid skinsuit, handmade in PISSEI’s Custom Lab. #WeAreUAE 🇦🇪 pic.twitter.com/jfLRlMTwyaDecember 12, 2024
2. Who needs white bib shorts when you can wear blue jeans?
Changing norms, breaking codes. #Gobik #TomorrowIsDecidedToday pic.twitter.com/BT2UnWatmSDecember 12, 2024
3. Fresh from judges' houses, it's Bora-Hansgrohe!
4. If you, too, have Anna in your name, you might also be destined to become an individual pursuit world champion
5. After hearing Tadej Pogačar is targeting the Tour of Flanders next year, Mathieu van der Poel is looking into new sports
6. You never lose it, Thomas
I’m on my rollers training indoor. I watch a pov video from inside the unboundpeloton. I’m fixated on the screen. They crash in front of me. I brake. Reflexes are still there.December 12, 2024
7. You gave birth, you say? Well, if it's not on Strava, it didn't happen
8. I'll take a cappuccino and a Thibau Nys to go, please
9. Track cycling can be a real circus sometimes
10. Let this be a reminder to all of you to change your bar tape regularly
11. And finally, I'll leave you with the dance moves of Oppy, an intimidatingly jacked kangaroo, to take you into the weekend
