Ok, I know that the most of you only cares about the kit of the Schleck's new team, but we mustn't forget that in SB there are still some great guys like Porte or Chris Anker Sorensen or Laurent Didier and so on. Therefore, here you have it, the new Saxo Bank jersey!
The thing that striked me most when I first looked at it was the black eagle at your right. As you probably know, Riis Cycling's logo has always been an eagle, and Riis himself was nicknamed 'Eagle from Herning' during his career. But still, I don't like it very much.
The other thing that striked my attention was the fact that the jersey background is not white, but light blue. This is an original choice and I hope it will make the jersey easier to see during races.
If you want to take a better look to the kit, on http://www.team-saxobank.com/ny_news.asp?n_id=3016 there is a picture of Morkov (if my eyes don't fail me...) wearing the kit. I like the shorts and also the back of it while, as I already said, I don't like the eagle on the right that much. Logic, who adored last year's kit, is a bit skeptical about the eagle, while Fangirl seems to love the new jersey. 'It is original and I think it will also be easy to spot in the peloton. Moreover, the trousers are black!', she said in an unofficial interview.
Talking about the new kit, Riis said: "I really think we have created a cool jersey, and I can't wait to see it on my riders in the first races of the season. Both the light blue background and the eagle are also reflected on our cars, trucks and buses as they form the leitmotif of our entire design.In many ways, I'm now the leader of a new team after a turbulent year, that measured on the sporting outcome was so successful, that we once again finished as the world's best team. But 2010 was also a season characterized by the fact, that a number of our riders and staff wanted new challenges elsewhere. Therefore, we have welcomed many new faces in our organization. But at the same time, the philosophy of the team and our values remains the same". In an article that appeared on Cyclingnews, Bjarne also wished all of the best to those who abandoned his team in 2010. Moreover,he thanked the sponsors and the fans for their support and he wished everyone a happy new year.
Still talking about jerseys, also Garmin Cervélo has recently presented the new team's kit. Said kit looks a bit shocking to me, since it is a fusion of Garmin and Cervélo's old kits, with one big difference: I can't see the argyle pattern anywhere. What a shock. However, Cervélo's 'è' has remained on the back of the jerseys.
I predict it won't be easy to get used to this kit (I just hope Sky won't adopt black jerseys too!), but it seems pretty nice to me. Anyway, I have a question: how are the riders supposed to ride in the Tour's hot weather with a completely black kit on? Mistery.
(Picture 1 by Tim De Waele, picture 2 by Cyclingnews)
Hi Fede! Happy new year to you, Logic and Fangirl :-)
RispondiEliminaTo tell the truth, I don't like very much Saxo's new kit, it looks like the dye bled after a wash, but I've seen worst. And I can't quite put my finger on the eagle thing, it's like saying, possibly with a Gollum voice, "this team is mine mine mine!". If the new Lux team will have a leopard somewhere let's prepare to a lot of "eagle vs leopard" on cycling magazines :P
I like the new Garmin-Cervélo kit and I have the same doubts as you about black and hot weather, but it's a cool kit :P If you squint your eyes enough you can see the argyle pattern on the blue stripes.
Francesca
Fede,
RispondiEliminaFor a laugh about the new Saxo kit read:
http://www.atwistedspoke.com/new-saxo-bank-jersey-beware-the-self-inflicted-eagle-attacks/
His comments are a little naughty but quite funny.
Brenda
@ Francesca: happy new year also to you dear!
RispondiEliminaLol at the Gollum part of your comment! Right now Fangirl is imagining Riis with a mad scientist smile on his face, acting like Smeagol while talking about his team.
If it had depended on my will, I would have kept last year's jersey. I liked it so much! Too bad that my opinion doesn't count anything for SB's designers. But still, I pretty like the new look, although I wouldn't have put the eagle on the jerseys (not of the front, at least).
Btw, the kit could have been much worse and I must admit that, as soon as I saw it, I felt a bit relieved. Now we just have to wait a few days before of seeing Team Luxalicious' new kits - I can't wait!
Now that I've looked more carefully and I've noticed the argyle pattern on Garmin's kit, I feel much better. A Garmin jersey without argyle? Useless!
I really like the new Garmin kit, although I'm afraid it will take me A LOT of time to get used to it and to learn how to tell which rider is from Sky and which from Cervélo (Garmin, that's what I meant :P).
Logic suggests me that in the summer the Garmin guys may abandon the total black look for a white kit, but we'll have to wait some months before of discovering whether she is right or not.
In the meanwhile, we can keep on expressing our judgements on the team jerseys. Apropos, Katusha's new kit has just appeared on the net, modeled by Pippo Pozzato.
@ Brenda: nice read, thank you very much for it Brenda!
I was sure that someone would have started naughty comments about the eagle soon, but I didn't want to be the first one! :P
I'm afraid that the eagle will be object of many jokes inside the peloton and this was actually one of my first thoughts as soon as I saw the jersey. But still, guys who can face a Tour de France will be able to ignore some childish naughty jokes, won't they? ;)
Hmm, I do like the back of SB-kit! I don't think we'll see a lot of the eagle, it's exactly on the part of the body that is bent, when riding a bike. (I hope you know what I mean, had some problems with the translation here.)
RispondiEliminaDidn't GarminCervelo learn anything from Sky? Last year Sky changed the back of their kits because it was too hot!
I perfectly understood what you meant and I completely agree with you. Actually, we should see the eagle just when the riders have to stop at the side of the road because they've punctured and when they win and raise their arms. Therefore, we can say that the sight of the eagle will be the prize that supporters will have to pay to see their favourite riders crossing the finish-line in triumph. A reasonable prize, after all. So, let's hope of being able to see the eagle on many occasions this year!*
RispondiEliminaBlack is an elegant colour, but a black kit isn't comfortable at all when you must ride in warm weather. Perhaps Garmin wil change the colour of its kits too this summer- if so, I hope there will be more argyle on the summer kits.
* no, that sentence wasn't supposed to be naughty. Simply, I couldn't find any other way of writing it.
Riis must have had some competition in mind between leopards and eagles.
RispondiElimina@Fede A very happy 2011 for you.
Ahah, that's for sure! Poor Bjarne, not only did he have so many problems last year, now everyone is teasing him because of the eagle on the jerseys... Poor man!
RispondiEliminaHappy 2011 also to you Barbara!