This year’s pink jersey has attracted its share of Giro headlines thanks to its famous designer, Paul Smith.
Smith was the team presentation yesterday in Naples and was given almost the same billing as the star riders, appearing before the assembled TV camera before the riders took to the stage.
He said the interest in his pink jersey, which takes its colour from the hue of La Gazzetta dello Sport (see our Giro d'Italia jersey guide for a full explanation of the colours), has been huge.
“It’s been bizarre, I can’t quite believe it – it’s been lovely,” he told BikeRadar at the presentation.
“Santini, the makers of it said they’ve never had a jersey that’s had so much attention. The audience for them has much bigger than ever before especially in Asia, which is where I’m quite popular,” he added.
Today’s 130km race is expected to end in a bunch sprint and could mean that the first wearer of the pink jersey is Smith’s friend, Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma Quick-Step).
Smith was invited to design the jersey by race organisers RCS Sport.