Yesterday evening saw the presentation of the 22 teams for the 2013 Tour de France. Held in the port of Porto-Vecchio, the riders arrived via boat before they rode their bikes up the pier to the stage where they were introduced to the public. Several teams took the opportunity to show off their new kits.
Belkin Pro Cycling already unveiled their jersey at a press conference on Monday. This was the first chance to see the jersey in its “natural environment”, although it will only be seen in-race tomorrow:
FDJ has effected a name-change to FDJ.fr to highlight the sponsor’s online betting website, and will now race in predominantly blue kits that also sport the colours white and red, thus combining all three colours of the French flag for the 100th Tour. They also have newly-crowned French champion Arthur Vichot on their squad:
Team Sky sports a new sponsor on the back of their shorts. It stays in the family, though, as 21st Century Fox is also a part of the News Corporation conglomerate:
The Movistar jersey will now incorporate the logo of O2, the European brand of the Telefónica company, on the riders’ shoulders:
The Tour presentation is also one of the first opportunities to see the jerseys of the new national champions. Two of them will go head-to-head in the mass sprints. André Greipel looks confident in his German jersey:
Mark Cavendish has also exchanged the regular Omega Pharma-Quick Step kit for the British champion's stripes, and Michal Kwiatkowski has taken over the Polish champion's jersey from teammate Michal Golas:
Cofidis' Rein Taaramäe will hope to show his Estonian jersey in the mountains:
And we can be almost sure to see Johnny Hoogerland (Vacansoleil-DCM) on the attack, clad in the Dutch colours:
Yosniel RODRIGUEZ 42 years | today |
Stephen KEEPING 38 years | today |
Marcin OSINSKI 41 years | today |
Glada BORGHESI 22 years | today |
Diego ÁLVAREZ 48 years | today |
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