The Tour de France may still be a long way off, but the teams have already been busy – presenting their outfits for the 2018 race. There are plenty of new jerseys and a clear trend: black, the color that’s been so popular in recent years, thanks to the likes of Team Sky, Movistar, Dimension Data and Bora, is on the way out. routesandroots.com has selected five innovative outfits from this year’s peloton that will make your biking buddies jealous. At L’Étape du Tour for example ? Plus, we’ve added another kit that you won’t see on the Tour in July, but that we think is just great.
Fresh-looking, like Peter Sagan’s teammates? The Slovakian idol is still wearing the rainbow jersey after winning his third road race world title in a row. But his Bora-Handsgrohe teammates, who were kitted out in black for the 2017 Tour, are looking a bit more colorful this time around. The sky blue and turquoise tones really stand out, giving the whole outfit a very fresh feel.
Like “evergreen” Mark Cavendish? The black from the top of the Dimension Data jersey has disappeared and the IT company’s signature fluorescent green is given more space. Maybe it’s a sign of the evergreen hopes of Mark Cavendish of winning Tour stages again at 33?
As elegant as Marcel Kittel? In 2017, the Katusha outfit was all one color, red. This year, the only trace of red is in the logo of its new sponsor, shampoo company Alpecin. Instead, the look is all about pale blue, on the chest and shoulders, and burgundy on the lower part of the jersey. The design is a perfect fit for the team’s new recruit from Quick-Step, Marcel Kittel.
Low-profile, like Romain Bardet? French team AG2R – La Mondiale has opted for an understated, yet elegant design based on the brown and light blue of its insurance company sponsor. The brown has also been adopted for the shorts.
Luminous, like Nairo Quintana? This is perhaps the most surprising change of them all. Having had a largely black outfit for several years, the Movistar team of Nairo Quintana and Alejandro Valverde has turned electric blue. The glowing effect is emphasized by the use of white for the sponsors’ names.
Our wildcard: Shades of Brittany, like Bryan Coquard? A new “continental” level team, the Vital Concept Cycling Club, has not been selected for this year’s Tour. What’s surprising about the team’s colors is that they aren’t those of its sponsor, a Breton distance selling firm in the agricultural sector. Instead, it’s a shade of blue-green called “glaz” in Breton language, a combination that conjures up the skies and seas in France’s Far West.
