Designing a team kit for the one of the biggest teams in pro cycling isn’t an easy task.
Team kits need to serve many functions, of course they are the prime advertising space for any sponsors but they also need to be visible in a race environment too, making it easier for riders, soigneurs and sport directors to find their teammates.
It also helps the sponsors if they are visible on camera both from the motos and the helicopters following the race.
Obviously helps if the design is something that will be popular with the fans too!
When it comes to sponsors there has to be agreement on the size and placement of logos in relation to their investment in the team, prime spots are the chest and back of the jersey and rear & side panels of the shorts.
In the Pro Tour fortunately it’s usually just one or two main sponsors and a few partners, at lower levels where the sponsorship is split between lots of companies it can look pretty crowded!
A big factor in the design is also the background, sponsor history and personal tastes of the team management. We’ve had everything from ceramic tiles (Ariostea) and flooring bricks (Mapei) to eagles (Saxo Bank – Sungard) depicted and everything in between.
For the 2015 Tinkoff Saxo jersey we’ve taken in to account the evolution of the team’s jersey design over the years, looked at what has been popular and what other designs are in the peloton and of course listened to what the fans have been asking for too.
We can’t show you the new kit yet but here’s a sneak preview of some of the design elements and a little bit of the story behind them…
Tinkoff
Tinkoff is the main sponsor of the team, stepping in as a joint title sponsor with Saxo Bank in 2012. Tinkoff Credit Systems is Russia’s leading provider of online retail financial services, operating through a high-tech branchless platform. TCS Bank was founded in 2007 by Mr Oleg Tinkov – a renowned Russian entrepreneur with a long track record in creating successful businesses and a huge fan of cycling having raced when he was younger. As well as being the main sponsor the team license is also owned by Tinkoff.
Saxo Bank
Saxo Bank is the team’s longest standing sponsor and a leading online trading and investment specialist, offering a complete set of tools for trading and investment strategies. Saxo Bank has been involved in sponsorship of the team since 2008. The Danish company along with the involvement of Bjarne Riis has been a strong supporter of Danish talent over the years with number of national champions and important wins for Danish riders.
Specialized
Specialized is based in Morgan Hill, California and was founded in 1974. Today Specialized designs and manufactures some of the best bikes, cycling shoes and helmets in the world. The company works closely with Tinkoff Saxo to ensure that it has the best technology at its disposal, wind tunnel testing, weather data on course and advice for equipment choice on the day.
Sportful
Sportful is proud to continue as technical clothing partner to Tinkoff-Saxo, a relationship that has been ongoing since 2010.Sportful clothing is designed with constant input from team riders, prototype testing and aerodynamic improvements in the wind tunnel.
Every product used by Tinkoff-Saxo has been designed specifically for the rigours of pro cycling with the combination of comfort and performance in mind.
Sportful values the feedback and advice of Team Tinkoff-Saxo in continuing to develop the best cycle clothing on the market and looks forward to sharing in the team’s success in 2015.
Etixx
New for 2014 Etixx Sports Nutrition have formed a partnership with Tinkoff Saxo to help the athletes be successful in a healthy way using their race, recovery and training products. Making sports nutrition since 2009 the company have a high level of quality assurance that makes sure all their products are 100% WADA approved and give the athletes the correct balance of nutrients for the best performance.
UCI World Tour
The UCI WorldTour brings together the world’s greatest stage races – notably the Tour de France, the Giro d’Italia or the Vuelta a España – as well as the most prestigious one-day classics. The quality of the sporting show is guaranteed thanks to the participation of the best teams – and therefore the best riders – in all the UCI WorldTour events. The 18 UCI ProTeams, carefully selected according to ethical, financial, administration, but above all sporting criteria, will participate in all the events on this calendar.
Heres a few more details we can show you for now…
So there you have it … we can show you what is on the jersey, just not how it’s all put together, or the colours….for that you will have to wait just a little longer!
