Melbourne-based MAAP has grown a reputation for its bold designs in the cycling apparel scene, so it’s with characteristic intrepidness that the brand breaks onto the WorldTour, with a pair of grey ‘shadow’ bib shorts.
MAAP has today unveiled its kit to be worn by Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla Jayco in 2025, the brand’s first top-level partnership, which will see the Australian squads dress in purple and grey.
It’s a colour choice that comes from the MAAP's history, research of peloton aerial shots, and a desire to stand out. It's also one the brand knows will spark debate.
“We just wanted to have something distinctive in the peloton,” said Misha Glisovic, MAAP’s creative director.
The colour of the jersey, Glisovic explained, was inspired by “night desert skies, AlUla sunsets, and the aurora australis”, a light phenomenon seen from the Australian outback. The shorts, in contrast, came as an opportunity to rub against the grain. “We call it shadow,” Glisovic said of the tone. “It’s a colour that we’ve used before within our main line, and it seems to go well with both bright and neutral colours.
“It’s something that feels uniquely MAAP, and it brings that lifestyle fashion influence into the sport, trying to present something different within the peloton.”
In a blur of black and navy shorts, Jayco AlUla’s bottom half will be sure to stand out. The ‘shadow’ colour will attempt to fill a hole left in the bunch by AG2R La Mondiale, who flaunted controversial brown bib shorts for more than a decade, before scrapping them at the start of this year.
“AG2R bibs were iconic, right?” said Oliver Cousins, MAAP co-CEO and co-founder. “We generally were big fans of that, and I personally think it was a shame that they walked away from it.
“I think shadow is not as contentious as the AG2R colour, but it’s definitely something that we wanted to offer, and it was different to what’s out there in terms of navy blues and blacks. I think it will be well received.”
Founded in 2014, MAAP has previously supplied kit to British Continental teams Trinity Racing and Lifeplus-Wahoo. The brand’s entry into the WorldTour, Cousins said, has long been one of its “core goals”, with an Australian team the natural choice.
“This is what we’ve always wanted to do,” the co-founder said. “I don’t think that it will be a big surprise that we’re jumping in [to the WorldTour]. In my eyes, it’s probably almost like, why hasn’t MAAP joined the WorldTour yet? If you are committed to the sport and developing performance-oriented kit, to me, you’ve got to play in that space.”
The jersey colour has been approved by the UCI – despite initial concerns the purple may clash with the women’s WorldTour leader’s jersey – and MAAP is confident that the shadow shorts, one of its best-selling colours, will be a hit with fans.
“We want to sell it as well,” said Jarrad Smith, MAAP's other co-founder and co-CEO, of the new kit. “It's another massive goal for us, or for me personally, to be able to look at people wearing the Jayco kit, because we're so proud of it. I want to wear it, and I'm hoping it resonates with people.”
You can find all the newly updated WorldTour kits for 2025 on the Cycling Weekly website now.
