Best and Worst National Champs jerseys

[tobydawq]

Sure, if you're a time trial champion, you get a championship skinsuit, because skinsuits are for time trials and track cycling.

Where is that rule?

Aerodynamics also apply in road races.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Sure, but the traditional jersey / bibs combo was designed around the requirements of road racing and still serves that function well. Eating and drinking and so forth are still a requirement. Aerodynamics apply in road races, but the TT helmets, aero bars and disc wheels don't get trotted out for a 180km road stage (and several elements of those have been legislated against), and I don't feel that skinsuits should either. The aero lids fad seems to have died down a lot, that might have been aesthetic or the benefit may have been too small, I don't know. The skinsuits definitely fail from an aesthetic point of view, especially the ones that result in deformed tricolour jerseys.

If you want to wear a skinsuit for a crit type event like the Cancer Council Classic where endurance isn't as much of a factor that's one thing, but I don't see it as having a place in classics or full road stages.

 

[tobydawq]

Sure, but the traditional jersey / bibs combo was designed around the requirements of road racing and still serves that function well. Eating and drinking and so forth are still a requirement. Aerodynamics apply in road races, but the TT helmets, aero bars and disc wheels don't get trotted out for a 180km road stage (and several elements of those have been legislated against), and I don't feel that skinsuits should either. The aero lids fad seems to have died down a lot, that might have been aesthetic or the benefit may have been too small, I don't know. The skinsuits definitely fail from an aesthetic point of view, especially the ones that result in deformed tricolour jerseys.

If you want to wear a skinsuit for a crit type event like the Cancer Council Classic where endurance isn't as much of a factor that's one thing, but I don't see it as having a place in classics or full road stages.

But Démare is a sprinter and if there is one place where they come in handy it should be in sprints where aerodynamics have even greater importance than in time trials. I'm not advocating that riders should begin riding nice mountains like Fedaia or La Planche des Belles Filles in skinsuits but not going for that advantage in a sprint would be daft.

Then again, I don't actually know if most sprinters use them as it's really not that noticeable for me.

But of course with them having no pockets they're not exactly practical.

 

[RedheadDane]

But of course with them having no pockets they're not exactly practical.

They do have the skinsuits-with-pockets option. And I suppose a sprinter could appoint a domestique as "designated food carrier".

 

[tobydawq]

They do have the skinsuits-with-pockets option. And I suppose a sprinter could appoint a domestique as "designated food carrier".

Maybe hire János Pelikán. He sounds like one who can carry all the other riders' necessities in his mouth while still wearing a skinsuit. The perfect domestique.

 

[RedheadDane]

Not bad, Movistar. Not bad.

I'll let someone else decide whether this is an acceptable Puerto Rico jersey.

And for good measure; here's Van Vleuten. However, I think this is a jersey they wouldn't have been allowed to mess up.

 

[lemon cheese cake]

Looks like they forgot to put the triangle of the flag on, realised, and just slapped it on somewhere near the left, at the last minute. Danish one is good and so is the Euros jersey. Just a shame that trying to make it look like one continuous band around the chest unfortunately makes the Puerto Rican jersey look slapdash.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

By Movistar standards, the Puerto Rican one is actually pretty good and it's actually better than the one he had last year, but that's damning with faint praise. The Danish one, on the other hand, is actually good and this must count as a minor miracle as no matter how hard the Danish champions' jersey is to screw up, if there was one team that was going to find a way then my money would have been on Movistar.

Although remembering the travesties committed to the Norwegian jersey by Sky (the 2012 version) and Dimension Data, perhaps I judge Movistar too harshly.

 

[Nirvana]

To fit with the Movistar logo azure/celeste they took the old flag of Puerto Rico instead of the one in use now.

Maybe i'm pedantic but for me that's a big difference.

 

[Breezy1985]

To fit with the Movistar logo azure/celeste they took the old flag of Puerto Rico instead of the one in use now.

Maybe i'm pedantic but for me that's a big difference.

According to Wikipedia both are acceptable and the sky blue is used by the government at times

 

[Vesica]

Perfection. Absolutely brilliant to see from helicopter view.

 

[Wvv]

Of course I appreciate the FDJ-designs, but in all honesty I still prefer a little reference to a team or main sponsor logo. The white area is more than big enough for something like that, without taking away the glamour of the national colours. Because champion kits should be special, but we can't lose sight of sponsors as well.

In other words: the QuickStep-style (minus the Lidl-logo), does it for me.

As long as it's no 'same plain jersey, with some stripes added' kind of kit like too many teams use in the modern cycling era.

 

[RedheadDane]

Of course this only applies to France, where I guess the sponsors are mostly trying to sell their products, but maybe the tactic of FDJ is just always have the French Champion; so that whenever viewers see him sitting in the peloton, they'll automatically think of the sponsors.

 

[Wvv]

Of course this only applies to France, where I guess the sponsors are mostly trying to sell their products, but maybe the tactic of FDJ is just always have the French Champion; so that whenever viewers see him sitting in the peloton, they'll automatically think of the sponsors.

I've never seen an ugly French national champion kit at Cofidis though.

 

[RedheadDane]

I've never seen an ugly French national champion kit at Cofidis though.

France could very well be one of those fedorations that actually demand prober jersey execution (in the "creating it" sense, not "killing it", coz... that would be weird).

 

[Wvv]

I've never seen an ugly French national champion kit at Cofidis though.

France could very well be one of those fedorations that actually demand prober jersey execution (in the "creating it" sense, not "killing it", coz... that would be weird).

Probably. So does the Belgian federation.

Also, you didn't notice my Cofidis joke.

 

[RedheadDane]

Also, you didn't notice my Cofidis joke.

They've never had a French Champion. But even if they were to get it at some point, they might be "forced" - and why would you consider that a "force thing"? - to make a proper one.

 

[Wvv]

They've never had a French Champion. But even if they were to get it at some point, they might be "forced" - and why would you consider that a "force thing"? - to make a proper one.

True, which is unbelievable considering how long the team exists.

But we know they wouldn't mess it up, because they had the champ in cyclocross.

Venturini here leading no one other than MVDP.

 

[dick the quick]

 

[dick the quick]

 

[Armchair cyclist]

Are there any images of the version that the NZ federation wouldn't allow, designed by Bennett's wife/girlfriend if memory serves.

 

[davidsonduke]

Are there any images of the version that the NZ federation wouldn't allow, designed by Bennett's wife/girlfriend if memory serves.

That’s the one they allowed. Here’s the he one they didn’t:

 

[dick the quick]

 

[Armchair cyclist]

Jerseys most likely to get mixed up in the team laundry hamper

 

[RedheadDane]

Jerseys most likely to get mixed up in the team laundry hamper
[Snipped]

I think that would be the standard jerseys...