This year’s special edition Tour de France team kits range from vintage to designer
A tribute to Poupou, subtle checkerboards and fan names, luxury collabs and a colourful redesign
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Alpecin-Fenix
Special edition kits are a fun way for WorldTour teams to spice things up, particularly at big races. With all eyes on the Tour de France, a number of teams took the opportunity to do something different with their rider’s jersey design this year.
Alpecin-Fenix
To honour French cycling legend (and Mathieu van der Poel’s grandfather) Raymond Poulidor, Alpecin-Fenix created a limited edition throwback kit. Celebrating van der Poel’s first Tour de France, the bright purple and yellow kit vintage-style kit was paired with crisp white gloves and hats.
The kit was originally created only to drum up excitement about the team’s participation in the Tour and to be sold to the public as a fundraiser for organizations and charity projects supporting children and teenagers in sports, but the team got a wave of positive feedback on the design.
At the last minute, Alpecin-Fenix got permission from the UCI to wear the vintage kit for the first stage of the race, where the team stood out brightly in the crowd. On stage two, back in the team’s conventional kit, van der Poel crossed the line in first and dedicated his win to his late grandfather.
Bora-Hansgrohe
Bora-Hansgrohe hinted that it would be switching up its kit design and, at first glance, a viewer could be forgiven for thinking the team had simply switched from white to darker green. While the kit looks like a sold colour from a distance, up close it’s covered in a black and green checkerboard design. The German team says the design was selected because “the Tour de France – like chess – is much more than just a game.”
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The kit was changed as a way to promote the team’s sponsors: Bora will soon release a new oven and Hansgrohe is celebrating its 120th anniversary.
TotalEnergies
Team Total Direct Energie’s main sponsor, energy company Total, has changed its name to TotalEnergies. With the new name comes a new kit, making a Tour de France debut. The colourful kit is playful and much brighter than many of the other team’s subdued colour pallets.
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Qhubeka NextHash
Qhubeka NextHash collaborated with designer fashion brand Burberry for its 2021 Tour de France kit. Burberry has committed to donating to Qhubeka, an initiative that enables people to earn bicycles through its not-for-profit programmes.
Qhubeka NextHash’s new Assos jerseys feature the Burberry logo and the Thomas Burberry ‘TB’ monogram. The partnership will continue until the end of the season.
Jumbo-Visma
The yellow of Jumbo-Visma’s jersey is too close to the Tour de France leader’s jersey, so the race organizers asked the team to come up with an alternate design for the event. Jumbo-Visma let its fans select one of three slightly different proposed designs.
The winning jersey is called the Rapid Rebel and, much like Bora’s subtly patterned kit, it too has a secret. The names of fans are printed in tiny font all across the black portions of the kit.
