Bahrain-Victorious unveil special edition jersey for Vuelta a España

The team has changed their strip so as not to clash with the red leader's jersey

Bahrain Victorious
(Image credit: Bahrain Victorious)

Bahrain-Victorious will wear a special edition jersey for the upcoming Vuelta a España so as not to clash with the Spanish Grand Tour red leader's jersey as well as raise awareness around obesity and diabetes.

Bahrain is said to be one of the countries most affected by diabetes, where the incidence of diabetes is 14.7 per cent of the adult population, expected to rise to a quarter in the Gulf by 2030.

The design is said to be a nod to previous iterations of the team's strip, when they were called Bahrain-Merida and Bahrain-McLaren, and is emblazoned with various statistics and quotes about diabetes: “30 minutes of exercise a day reduces your risk of diabetes by 25%”, “Riding Away From Obesity and Diabetes” and “Every Pedal Stroke is a Victory.”

While the professionals take on three weeks of racing across Spain, the team is also inviting fans and members of the public to do 30 minutes of exercise every day and log it on the team's Strava club through which they can win prizes for participating.

>>> Tom Pidcock using Grand Tour debut at Vuelta a España 2021 as learning experience

Bahrain-Victorious line up for the Vuelta with Mikel Landa as leader accompanied by a strong supporting cast.

Bahrain Victorious

(Image credit: Getty)

Jack Haig returns to Grand Tour racing after crashing out of the Tour de France, while Damiano Caruso will be dreaming of going as well as he did in the Giro d'Italia in May, where he finished second overall. Mark Padun, Gino Mäder, Wout Poels, Jan Tratnik and Yukiya Arashiro complete the strong eight-man squad.

At the recent Tour de France Bahrain-Victorious also wore a special jersey, albeit just for the team presentation, a blue and white number also raising awareness around obesity and diabetes.

After the team presentation, the jerseys were destroyed and one was 'minted' as an NFT (non-fungible token). This time, however, a tangible version of the Vuelta jersey is available for fans to purchase.

Thank you for reading 10 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

Hi. I'm Cycling Weekly's Weekend Editor. I like writing offbeat features and eating too much bread when working out on the road at bike races.


Before joining Cycling Weekly I worked at The Tab and I've also written for Vice, Time Out, and worked freelance for The Telegraph (I know, but I needed the money at the time so let me live).


I also worked for ITV Cycling between 2011-2018 on their Tour de France and Vuelta a España coverage. Sometimes I'd be helping the producers make the programme and other times I'd be getting the lunches. Just in case you were wondering - Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen had the same ham sandwich every day, it was great.