The EF Education-EasyPost team's hot pink jerseys are an awkward match for the Giro d’Italia, where for three weeks the cycling world turns pink.
So, as not to be confused with the race leader (who wears a pink jersey – the maglia rosa – at the Giro d'Italia), the team’s clothing supplier for the past seven seasons, Rapha, produces a special non-pink design each year for the first Grand Tour of the season.
In the past, they’ve often been bold, with a collaboration with the Palace streetwear brand bringing some particularly striking designs. And who can forget the duck design on the team’s Poc helmets?
Other special-edition Giro kits have included a pink and yellow design made from recycled materials, and the 'Euphoria' jersey of 2021, with its broad colour palette said to celebrate people from different nations and backgrounds coming together in pursuit of a common goal.
Things are more understated this year, though, with a 'White Diamonds' design applied to Rapha's Pro Team Flaero jersey.
It’s predominantly white, but preserves the studded diamond pattern that’s a feature of the standard pink kit. The team’s Cannondale SuperSix Evo Lab71 bikes look to be standard issue, rather than the custom options that have been rolled out in previous years.
Rapha says the Pro Team Flaero jersey’s white is intended to keep riders cool in the heat. But hot weather can be in short supply in Italy in May, with cold rain and snow often more typical, particularly in the Grand Tour's final week in the Alps and Dolomites.
Maybe we can expect hotter weather for the Giro’s first three stages in Albania, although even there the temperature is only forecast to reach 24c during the race's first three days around Tirana.
Is this the end of the wild designs? In past years, the team has also changed kits at the Tour de France, not just the Giro d’Italia, so perhaps we can expect something brighter later this year.
