Team Sky and Katusha-Alpecin have been showing off their new jerseys ahead of the 2017 Tour de France.
British WorldTour outfit Team Sky have swapped their traditional black kit for white, allowing the riders to keep cooler on hot, sunny days during the Tour, which starts this Saturday in Düsseldorf, Germany. Rider surnames are displayed clearly on the back of the jersey, reflecting a UCI rule change for 2017 which allowed teams to do so.
>>> Tour de France 2017: Latest news, race info and more
Sky posted photos of the new white kit on Twitter on Thursday morning, as Luke Rowe and Michal Kwiatkowski were among the riders heading out for a training ride for the first time in the new strip.
Defending Tour de France champion and Sky leader Chris Froome had previously shown off the jersey when it was launched on June 1. The white kit will only be used during the Tour, and not any other races.
This morning saw our first training ride in the new white @CastelliCycling kit. Looking sharp for #TDF2017! pic.twitter.com/Q1RubnV9ef
— Team Sky 🚲 (@TeamSky) June 29, 2017
A personal touch #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/sHnN0fIcAy
— Team Sky 🚲 (@TeamSky) June 29, 2017
Swiss-registered squad Katusha-Alpecin have gone for a reworking of their red-and-white jersey, with German shampoo brand Alpecin’s logo right across the chest with red underneath and white above.
The back of the jersey retains the distinctive large ‘K’ logo of Katusha, which will show up nicely on those sweeping aerial TV images of the peloton.
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The cuffs of the Katusha jerseys and red shorts are light blue with branding for the team’s bike supplier Canyon.
The team’s Tony Martin and Alexander Kristoff will lead their hopes of stage victories.
We proudly present our special edition #TDF2017 @LeTour kit by KATUSHA Sports https://t.co/00U9h8UX11 #TeamKatushaAlpecin pic.twitter.com/nz1TIaT9rk
— Team KATUSHA ALPECIN (@katushacycling) June 28, 2017
Dutch team LottoNL-Jumbo also unveiled a new kit, where the black and yellow panels are reversed compared to pre-Tour kit. This prevents potential confusion with the Tour leader’s yellow jersey.
Even if Robert Gesink won't win the Dutch national title, he'll exchange the yellow & black into a new designed jersey next week. Do you ❤️? pic.twitter.com/9b05tKYxnj
— LottoNLJumbo Cycling (@LottoJumbo_road) June 24, 2017
The 2017 Tour de France kicks off in Düsseldorf on Saturday, July 1, and concludes three weeks later in Paris on Sunday, July 23.
