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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frank says:

Mar 28 2012 at 3:11 am

@il ciclista medio

@DerHoggz
Brilliant.

Couldn't help myself, what with all this talk of tricolore jerseys. This is one modern example of how it should be done.

Not a big fan of GreenEdge so far, but their kit is glorious, and this particular nat jersey is, from what I can tell, totally standard and so are his bibs. Its all class, that.
Oli says:

Mar 28 2012 at 3:15 am

@frank
That's actually a much cooler idea.
mouse says:

Mar 28 2012 at 3:45 am

@frank
Heh, you go away for 12 hours and the inmates start running the asylum!
wiscot says:

Mar 28 2012 at 5:04 am

@DerHoggz
The sacrifices Mario makes for his team are incredible. Watching young ladies stretch, riding behind them, "helping" them with their positions. Such a hard job!
Tartan1749 says:

Mar 28 2012 at 8:19 am

Not 100% related, but very interesting blog on INRNG about how the Olympic sponsorship rules will govern cyclists during the Games and, quite possibly, surrounding races. Worth a read.
RedRanger says:

Mar 28 2012 at 9:15 am

@frank

@jimmy

But to your point, I think the bands with an alternate background (N'team) is more ideal for a V-kit than 3 large bands the length of the jersey (champion). Of course given your heritage that background should be orange instead of light blue.

I'm not groovin' on the Brooklyn ripoff (sorry guys) and the throwback jersey is a very difficult thing to call. It has to be completely original but totally old school at the same time. Very hard to do. I think the guiding principle is what could you do with the technology of the day (i.e. sewing panels together) and design it based on those principles.

But to do it in modern materials seems half-cocked to me. Why are you doing it? Its just a gimmick then, kind of like designing the calendar app on the Apple to look like a notebook; you're using cloud technology to sync your calendar across dozens of devices in realtime and then making it look like a notepad with poorly-torn pages. Its idiotic.

I'm all about looking the part, but I'm all about authenticity as well. I would be much more inclined to leave our modern jerseys as they are, but have an authentic wool jersey made in an oldschool design. You want a throwback jersey? Do it for real and go wool. two colors. Orange in a panel across the shoulders and to just above the breast, and then a black trunk. The Velominati logo sewn across the chest.

Pretty much what I had suggested but witha grey stripe on the bottom. Make it a Velominati national TRi color. Wool being the way to go.
Mikael Liddy says:

Mar 28 2012 at 6:39 pm

@frank

@jimmy

But to your point, I think the bands with an alternate background (N'team) is more ideal for a V-kit than 3 large bands the length of the jersey (champion). Of course given your heritage that background should be orange instead of light blue.

I'm not groovin' on the Brooklyn ripoff (sorry guys) and the throwback jersey is a very difficult thing to call. It has to be completely original but totally old school at the same time. Very hard to do. I think the guiding principle is what could you do with the technology of the day (i.e. sewing panels together) and design it based on those principles.

But to do it in modern materials seems half-cocked to me. Why are you doing it? Its just a gimmick then, kind of like designing the calendar app on the Apple to look like a notebook; you're using cloud technology to sync your calendar across dozens of devices in realtime and then making it look like a notepad with poorly-torn pages. Its idiotic.

I'm all about looking the part, but I'm all about authenticity as well. I would be much more inclined to leave our modern jerseys as they are, but have an authentic wool jersey made in an oldschool design. You want a throwback jersey? Do it for real and go wool. two colors. Orange in a panel across the shoulders and to just above the breast, and then a black trunk. The Velominati logo sewn across the chest.

and that's why he runs the show...completely agree. The other designs were cool, but if we do it, it should be done right.
Dan_R says:

Mar 28 2012 at 7:02 pm

@jimmy

@Touriste-Routier

Better?

Awesome!
GottaRideToday says:

Mar 28 2012 at 7:08 pm

@frank

+1, I like the idea of a distinctive retro woolie. Lot of effort has gone into the current v kit design. Wear it with pride and keep throwing down some V. Good luck w/ the ride this week.
Chris says:

Mar 28 2012 at 8:30 pm

Just to throw another woolly dimension into this jersey discussion... are we talking retro wool or modern wool ?

The stuff that Rapha and others do is a mix of wool and synthetics and in the lighter versions is just as comfortable and cool as any lycra jersey (I have a couple in Abu Dhabi). It also has the advantage of being something you can chuck in the was with everything else.

Or is the intention to have a real traditional wool, the type that has to be dried flat, and would probably be more of a casual item ? I have a Peugeot jersey like that, which is very nice but I tend not to wear it that much because it is high-maintenance.