Categories: EtiquetteFolkloreIn MemoriamKitNostalgiaTradition

In Memoriam: The Tricolore

It was a simple time. Team kit was understated, with black shorts and a few colored panels on the jersey. Race Leader and National Championship jerseys were plain, and often even lacking in the name of the sponsor. National Championship jerseys in particular were a matter of national pride more than sponsorship; it was an honor to fly the colors of your country in a jersey that payed homage not to the team’s branding, but to that of the nation’s flag. The jersey was worn with standard team kit, often in garish contrast to the colors of the sponsor. It was gloriously Casually Deliberate.

Then, as more money came to be at stake and the sponsors became ever more loosely tied to Cycling’s history, it started to change. First with the shorts, which were modified to match the jersey, either with different accent colors or with an entirely matched design. Then teams started discouraging their riders from winning national championships and, if left no choice in the matter, they chose a design which matched the standard team kit design as closely as possible in order to maximize sponsorship investment.

The first time I noticed this trend was an account from Roger Hammond, the reigning British Road Champion, who had just signed with Discovery Channel. It was a matter of pride for him, of course, to wear the jersey but his new sponsor was not so keen and certainly held no special respect for the history of his jersey. After all, a national championship jersey has very little room on it for Discovery’s branding, and that meant a smaller return on their investment in the rider as a billboard. If I remember correctly, he was strongly discouraged – if not barred – from entering the race.

The Tricolore jersey is my favorite of any jersey available. If I were a Pro, I would carry a Dutch and not American license for no other reason than for the chance to race in the red, white, and blue stripes of the Dutch flag as opposed to the vertical stripes and star-spangled design of the American flag (however cool that jersey is as well).

To declare this In Memoriam is perhaps premature, but we are moving inexorably away from this glorious jumper; shorts are too often matched, bicycles too often repainted. I have nothing against maximizing a sponsor’s investment, but I worry over the consequences. I worry for the loss of standard team shorts, standard team kit, and the tricolore jersey. Will all teams follow Team Radiosanschelck?

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

JC Belgium says:

Mar 26 2012 at 5:33 pm

not really tricolore, but I think Mark had one too many of them Belgian ales when he was in Gent-Wevelgem...
Anjin-san says:

Mar 26 2012 at 5:46 pm

Geroge in 1998 looks freakin' great. Gotta agree with Fronk... the rank commercialism has really detracted from the honor of wearing ones national colors of late.
Marko says:

Mar 26 2012 at 5:48 pm

Fuch - I'm trying to start a Kit-coup as Frank and Gianni are somewhere over the North Atlantic and Brett is probably in the middle of some crazy layover in North Africa or something and I can't even post in the right place. Again:

Alright then peeps - I've started working on the other Keepers about the next V-kit iteration being something of a throw-back design. Not necessarily wool - modern materials, same as we're doing - but a throwback/tricolore pattern. The witte kit is a step in that direction from swarte but it could go much further. Who's with me?
Anjin-san says:

Mar 26 2012 at 5:53 pm

@Marko

Fuch - I'm trying to start a Kit-coup as Frank and Gianni are somewhere over the North Atlantic and Brett is probably in the middle of some crazy layover in North Africa or something and I can't even post in the right place. Again:

Alright then peeps - I've started working on the other Keepers about the next V-kit iteration being something of a throw-back design. Not necessarily wool - modern materials, same as we're doing - but a throwback/tricolore pattern. The witte kit is a step in that direction from swarte but it could go much further. Who's with me?

Sounds great! Thinking of any particular classic design as a base from which to work from?
mcsqueak says:

Mar 26 2012 at 5:56 pm

@Marko

YES.

Also, now is prime time for you to grab the reigns of power while they are away. coup d'etat. I know you want to change those log-in passwords for all the backend admin stuff...
Anjin-san says:

Mar 26 2012 at 6:02 pm

@Marko
The guys and gals at Pisgah Works in Asheville are turning our some pretty sweet wool items if you are so inclined... http://www.pisgahworks.com. I don't know anyone that works or owns the place (to the best of my knowledge), but I have one of their long-sleeved wool retro jerseys and is the shit. Not cheap, but comfy, well made, and durable. They do custom work.
pakrat says:

Mar 26 2012 at 6:29 pm

@Jeff in PetroMetro

BTW, did anyone else catch the bitchin' board on top of the car in the background? There's a fan with the right priorities.

Gonna have to disagree with this one. Whilst the owner IS at the proper event, that board ain't so bitchin'. Windsurfers are to surfboards as recumbents are to road bikes.

And don't get me started on this paddle board phenomena.
minion says:

Mar 26 2012 at 6:59 pm

@pakrat

@Jeff in PetroMetro

BTW, did anyone else catch the bitchin' board on top of the car in the background? There's a fan with the right priorities.

Gonna have to disagree with this one. Whilst the owner IS at the proper event, that board ain't so bitchin'. Windsurfers are to surfboards as recumbents are to road bikes.
And don't get me started on this paddle board phenomena.

Start, start...

We're in the same boat. Unless it's Liard Hamilton with a paddleboard, cos he can do whatever the fuck he wants.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 26 2012 at 7:00 pm

@Marko
Thought that might have been misplaced over there...personally I have a slight issue with retro styled gear in modern fabrics, but no doubt you'd get it right before production begins.

If you are thinking of heading down the woolen track, can I suggest a warm up jacket? Seems to be the perfect for velo related activities where one is in casual garb (spectating, pre & post cogal refreshments, etc)
scaler911 says:

Mar 26 2012 at 7:05 pm

I do enjoy the 'simpler' kits. Regarding the design of National Championship kits, it must be a total pain in the ass for whoever designs them given this:

1.3.069 The specificities concerning the design of the national champion jersey are described in the brochure available on the UCI website. These specificities are applicable for all the disciplines.
Before production, the national champion jersey design (colours, flag, drawing) reproduced by the titled rider must be approved by the concerned national federation and must respect the latter's dispositions.
Each national federation must have its national champion jersey design registered by the UCI, for each discipline, at least 21 days before the national championships of the discipline in question.
The wearer of a national champion's jersey shall be entitled to match the colour of his shorts to that of the jersey.

So you've got to make the UCI, the National federation and your sponsors happy. We need to go back to this:

Fags and Booze (credit to BRR!)