With the 2023 Tour de France just around the corner, many teams are unveiling new looks ahead of the biggest bike race in the world, using the opportunity to shake things up.
The reason behind the new kit designs ranges from a simple sponsorship refresh to team history tributes. Teams sporting predominantly yellow on their uniforms such as Uno X and Jumbo-Visma have had to change colours ahead of the French grand tour, out of respect for the coveted leaders jersey, the maillot jaune.
Before racing kicks off on the first of July, we thought we would take a closer look at some of the new Tour de France threads, and give our hot or not opinion.
BORA-Hansgrohe
In honour of the 10th anniversary of the team's first appearance at the Tour, team Bora will be riding an outfit that honours the team's legacy over the past decade. The team has switched out its patchwork colour scheme for a showstopping marine green gradient.
Clothing sponsor, Le Col, has designed the kit around the team's 'Band of Brothers' mantra. A closer look at the jersey reveals the names of all the riders who have ridden the Tour in Bora-Hansgrohe colours over the last decade - an admirable touch we think.
It also, usefully, is a different shade of green to the new green jersey.
Le Col also says the jersey is 'engineered to prioritise speed, with strategically placed tripping panels to help smooth airflow and reduce drag when riding at pace'. This should help the likes of Jai Hindley get through those long fast stages that little bit easier.
The new design from the German cycling world tour team is, we think, a winner. Subtle hints to the teams past, coupled with a beautiful new colourway earns the Le Col kit an 8/10.
Jumbo-Visma
The defending champions Jumbo-Visma will once again be swapping out the prominent yellow and black outfit for a design that should see no confusion with the maillot jaune.
The new Jumbo jerseys feature a mostly black design, with constellations along with a map of France across the chest. Another smart uniform - but the likes of Jonas Vingegaard will certainly be hoping the darker outfit won't harbor too much heat in the high mountains.
Team sponsor Agu has partnered with a theme park in the Netherlands, Efteling, to create an outfit inspired by the story ‘The Vélodrome, the story Ride your dreams’. Efteling wrote the story, which is inspired by the team's goals. The theme park highlights that it used to feature a merry-go-round where you could ride a bike, which was called the Vélodrome. The constellations are meant to reflect Jumbo-Visma's understanding of the importance of hard work in making dreams come true.
Overall we think the team's new look is pretty safe, but classy nonetheless. With a stacked squad that is hungry to retain the Tour de France title, these jerseys will certainly be on your TV screens an awful lot this July - and we don't think that's a bad thing. 7/10.
dsm-fermenich
dsm-fermenich is sporting some very minor changes to their jerseys for this year's Tour. DSM has merged with the chemical company, Fermenich, requiring an update. Only a subtle rebranding, the new logo can now be found across the chest of dsm-fermenich riders, with the rest of the kit remaining untouched.
For this kit run down, we are only taking into account the clothing itself. If we accounted for their brand new sparkly Scott bikes that were unveiled at the Giro d'Italia, they would score more favourably! 1/10.
Uno X
2023 will be Team Uno-X's men's Tour de France debut. The Women's WorldTour team and men's ProTeam will be showing off a new colour-way at the world's biggest races this year.
Ahead of their Tour debut, Uno-X has gained a new sponsor in the shape of supermarket chain Rema 1000. From now on, the Uno-X squad will be clad in a predominantly red outfit with a yellow band around the chest. A timely change of colour too, eradicating any yellow jersey confusion.
A little while back, the general manager of team Uno-X Jens Haugland said "It still feels a bit surreal that we're going to the Tour de France, but in a few weeks, we will be at the starting line". We certainly wish them well in their maiden three-week tour, and support their bold colour choice. 6/10.
Bahrain-Victorious
Bahrain-Victorious has a heritage-inspired kit for the 2023 Tour. The squad, who will be racing in honor of the late Gino Mäder, have swapped their usual red, orange, and blue colours for a lighter jersey, sporting white jerseys with light gold and teal flashes.
The pearl-inspired design apparently pays homage to Bahrain’s rich history of collecting and processing this precious gem. Alé, Rudy Project, and Merida have all stepped in to make sure the Bahrain-Victorious squad stands out with custom kit, helmets, and bikes.
An aesthetic choice of lighter colours should also help to keep the heat at bay for team Bahrain-Victorious. We particularly like the duller shade of gold, which looks just right against the white Merida bikes of the team. We can't wait to see this kit in action and score the kit a 9/10.
Movistar
🌊♻️🚴♂️ En el #DíaMundialDeLosOcéanos, ofrecemos nuestro apoyo a programas de protección con nuestro kit ‘Iceberg’ de Gobik, con el que correremos @LeTour y @letourfemmes avec @gozwift.Más info > https://t.co/jnBmic4pEIpic.twitter.com/rL7iixXilv pic.twitter.com/B5dWXANQvAJune 22, 2023
Movistar has also gone for a lighter look this July, swapping out their usual navy colours in favor of 'Iceberg' white for the Tours. The Spanish squad has a winning ethos behind their new colours, too.
In collaboration with kit sponsor Gobik, Movistar's jerseys are made out of 'sustainable materials'. The kit also holds a charitable cause: at the end of the races, each jersey will be signed by its rider and auctioned off with profits going to ocean protection programs.
Movistar says its motivations behind the new jerseys are to raise awareness for climate change, as well as practically tackle the hot European summer. Enric Mas and Annemiek van Vleuten will be among the top riders looking to stay cool in the Alpes. 8/10.
Astana Qazaqstan
⚡️🔥 What a news!Astana Qazaqstan Team presents the new design of its @GiordanaCycling jersey which will be wearing by the riders at the @LeTour, which starts in Bilbao on 1st July.📰👉Read more: https://t.co/SqS40SZthI#TDF2023 #AstanaQazaqstanTeam pic.twitter.com/JGZybVtG5uJune 23, 2023
Astana Qazaqstan has joined the party with a special edition 2023 Tour de France kit for this year's race, which starts in Bilbao. This stunning kit features yellow flashes, and pays homage, the team says, to the "power of minerals and precious stones that the land of Kazakhstan is rich in".
The colour scheme is said to represent the blue of the sky, and the gold of the sun alongside elements from the flag of Kazakhstan. We also think the yellow/ gold is a nice nod to the Tour, although it probably isn't.
We think Astana Qazaqstan has hit a home run with this kit. The deep marble effect looks absolutely class and coupled with the team's Willier team bikes, it is a winning combination. All that remains to be seen is if Mark Cavendish will be able to find the fairy tale ending to his Tour de France Career. The best special kit yet. 10/10
Lidl-Trek
This one is a bit of a cheat, as it is not a special Tour de France kit, but Lidl-Trek's new full-time outfit now they have switched names and sponsors from Trek-Segafredo. The USA-registered team has stopped with its white and red livery of before, and has instead gone with a new approach, which follows Lidl's blue, yellow and red colours.
It's really fun, with its business at the front, party at the back, approach. The big logos might grate with some, but this is what cycling is all about, right? Using skinny people as moving billboards.
The national champion jerseys are interesting, with Lidl so prominent in the middle of the Danish flag on Mattias Skjelmose or on the stars and stripes of Quinn Simmons, but they are paying for exposure after all.
Fun, quirky, I like this kit. 9/10.
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty
Intermarché-Circus-Wanty's special Tour de France kit is interesting because it really is not that different to the team's normal jersey. It looks pretty similar to the team's 2022 outfit, which is no bad thing, but for a special kit it does not feel particularly... special.
The press release might provide answers: "For its sixth participation in the most prestigious race in the world, Intermarché-Circus-Wanty worked with Belgian designer stycle.design, who designed a kit offering a special visibility to the principal sponsors thanks to a plain white background.
"On this area, Gobert Matériaux occupies a central place on the breast, in addition to the position where the logo is since the beginning of season 2023. The typical neon yellow color of the team is predominant on the shoulders, with the bottom part of the kit keeping its blue marina aspect."
OK, it's just to give Gobert Matériaux more prominence, I think. It's clean, solid design, but perhaps a bit staid. 6/10.
Israel-Premier Tech
Israel-Premier Tech has gone special kit crazy. The team already raced the Giro d'Italia in a fetching jersey which paid tribute to its wine sponsor, and now the Tour de France will be raced in a new white, blue and orange number.
According to the team: "The jersey's design is inspired by the Israel National Trail: the walking and cycling path that stretches from Kibbutz Dan in the north to Eilat in the south. The special Tour de France jersey, in a beautiful range of colours, promotes this major Israeli tourist attraction covering more than a thousand kilometres.
"The three stripes are a reference to what National Geographic describes as one of the most beautiful hikes in the world: the white stripe representing the mountains and Mount Hermon in the north, the blue stripe symbolising the coast of Israel and the orange stripe representing the desert in the south."
All that symbolism, but I'm afraid this kit is a bit lost on me. The orange clashes quite badly with the blue and white. I suppose the team will stand out, but they will not be winning any style awards from this writer. 3/10.
We will be adding to this page with every new kit release for the 2023 Tour de France, so keep an eye out for the latest threads ahead of the biggest bike races in the world.
