It is time for the much anticipated review of the 2019 pro kits that will be gracing the peloton. I will concentrate on the men’s team kits in this one as some are so ghastly I can only stomach so much at a time.
The curious unwritten rules of cycling mean that we can only admire these team kits on the shoulders of the pro’s and cannot wear them ourselves on the local climb. I mean you could of course, but should you? That is perhaps a debate for another time…
In no particular style stakes order…
AG2R La Mondiale
As sure as the sun rises every morning, AG2R La Mondiale has steadfastly stuck to the rather unappealing brown motif. They have had it for so long now that the brown shorts are beyond parody. They have even gone so far as to put a brown trim on the socks.
Yet, despite all the brown, it is by no means the worst kit in the peloton.
Astana
Take a look at that picture. He can barely look at his reflection such is the hideous nature of that kit.
Bahrain-Merida
Forgetting the human-rights issues for a second, there are some aspects of this kit to be admired. The colour scheme is quite classy and the lines break up the monotony.
Bora-Hansgrohe
Having failed to win the world championship for a fourth time at the tail end of the 2018 road season there was genuine worry that Peter Sagan may actually have to wear the standard trade colours of the Bora-Hansgrohe team. Fortunately, for him and everyone else, he won the Slovakian national road race and has once again managed to avoid the fate of having to wear team colours. With all eyes on Sagan it is likely that 99% of the viewing public will never know the true nature of the Bora-Hansgrohe team kit. They are missing nothing.
CCC Team
A team making the step up to the World Tour, although their distinctive orange jerseys have been a familiar sight in breakaways in recent editions of the Grand Tours.
It is simple and understated (bold colours aside) and fades nicely to the dark blue shorts.
Deceuninck-Quick Step
Despite a change in principle sponsor this year, the team colours remain the same. There is nothing to hate in the kit but to my mind there is nothing to really love either.
The more I look at it the more it actually looks like a decal-decked Formula One car. You can decide if this is a good thing or not.
Groupama-FDJ
This is a French team. Don’t ask me how I know that. I feel the same about this design as I do about pavements.
Lotto Soudal
More of the same from one of the Lotto teams. The black dots seem like a bit of an afterthought in an attempt to make at least one change from last year.
Mitchelton-Scott
Basically the same as last year but this is a cool kit. I say that as someone who loved the iconic Celtic “Bumblebee” strip in the 90’s.
Movistar
Basically the same as last season. I like the sleeve length (he says desperate to say something about this nondescript but inoffensive jersey).
Dimension Data
For a title sponsor that “invests heavily in innovation” this jersey is simply boring.
Team Jumbo
Wait, what? They are no longer a Lotto team? I am not going back to change my previous mistake! The balls have thankfully gone with the drop in title sponsor yet still there is a severe lack of balls about this kit.
Katusha-Alpecin
The light blue of the jersey just looks like it has been put through the washing machine at too high a temperature. I like the color of the shorts mostly because it is the same as my car. I am seriously running out of things to say on this topic in case it was not obvious already.
Team Sky
The symbolic white has gone to be replaced with a sort of fade to black motif. I always tended to like the Team Sky kit but this one leaves me a bit cold. Oh well only another year of it.
Team Sunweb
Quite a dramatic change to red this year but it is still a classy kit. Simple and elegant. In fairness the movie star good looks of Tom Dumoulin would elevate any old kit.
Trek-Segafredo
This is your bog standard cycling jersey but it is classy as a result. They (they being Rapha) say that cycling is the most beautiful sport in the world. Writing this blog post has given me serious reservations.
UAE-Team Emirates
In a bold move the team has basically just copied the design from the namesake airline.
As you can tell, writing this has been somewhat of a challenge. I am now going to look at something beautiful to compensate.