damage control...

i tried to resist, but sr and tuffy butchered their respective "top protour kits" lists so badly, that i am forced to respond.

a few posts below, i spoke on the current condition of team kits. focusing mainly on the lack of creativity, and generally trying to stay away from the "ranking" of jerseys...

i did however reveal my personal favorite, which sr (no surprise) and tuffy (slight suprise) have latched onto.

that favorite jersey belonging to credit argicole.

the photo of the jersey in action at the toc that i posted was special too, it was saul raisin in his return to the peloton. i don't know if anyone picked up on that. the fact that the team did not drop him from the roster as soon as they heard he might not return to cycling shows a dedication that goes beyond the dollar signs of pro cycling, and demonstrates one of the many reasons ca is my fav team.

so now with some watered down team rankings out there, i feel that it is time to step in and fix some misconceptions about style.

*warning* if you are squeamish, please do not continue.
you favorite jersey will prolly get a new one torn for it...

the (dis)pencer presents, pro tour jeresys 2007:


20. astana.
dead last for good reason. this jeresy sucks. this jersey looks worse than most "semi-custom" jerseys you see a bunch of punters rocking on the red ribbon ride...
it sucked as the liberty-serguros jersey. it sucked as the wurth jersey. and it sucks now. way to drive a unique national jersey in the ground.

19. unibet.
this is the best you could come up with? seriously? they gave you protour status and this is how you thank them?? it's like taking all the worst jersey ideas you could have and rolling them into one.



18. t-mobile.
this jersey is awful on so many levels that i am amazed that there are jerseys that are worse.
the magenta is bad. the sponsor uses pink in their logo,so they are stuck with the color. i think they wanted to "toughen" up the look so they wouldn't be the joke of the peloton... but they still are. oh, and matching this hideous beast with black shorts?? t-mobile make brittany spears look sane.


17. saunier duval.
what a sad, sorry fall from grace this jersey has had... it was so close to perfection 2 short years ago... and now this. i think maybe more than just the spanish riders are on the dope...


16. francais de jeux.
this team gets all kinds of "props" for the "fresh" white jerseys. why?
white has to be the worst possible choice for a jersey and bibs. just a touch of moisture on the ground and it's all over... you may even win the race, but you'll still look like you shit your pants when you're on the podium.


15. euskatel-euskadi.
they need to get rid of sammy sanchez so their kits can continue to match their performances.
this kit has not changed much for years, and i can't figure out why. maybe it's better that way, remember the special tt kits for the tour a few years ago? all white with orange highlights? (shutter...)


14. lotto.
at least this team carry on with their tradition; bad to worse. half black, half red in the 90's, to a vomitious white/blue/orange in 2000's, to this. it had potential, but it falls flat.


13. rabobank.
number thirteen, you'd think we'd be starting to see some decent jerseys by now... but no. we are still full into "well this sucks a little bit less than the last one" mode... the only thing i can say, is they probably don't worry about how bad this kit looks, because the name spends so much time on other jerseys anyway, e.g. world champs on road and cx, national champs on road and cx, etc...


12. discovery.
this was the bottom of the pile on both tim and tuffy's lists. don't get me wrong, it is a crappy jersey, but have you seen the ones listed above? i think a little personal bias went into those choices. i think if the designer wanted to go with black they should have went all the way. cut out the blue, it throws everything off and distracts from the point of the jersey. (the earth, and space). all in all, not bad, and a hell of a lot better than last years version.


11. quick step.
this jersey has lost spots in the last few years too, i think it was better with less navy. but, when your team wins everything it wants too, who gives a crap.





10. cofidis.
as i have said before, this team has come a long way. the red is a lot better, but it ain't great.
red has been missing from the peloton for awhile, and there is a reason; it is hard to pull off.
and giving due credit for trying, i don't think cofidis is pulling it off. they have laid claim to the color though, and i am excited to see if they can make it right next season.


9. ag2r.
white is good if you don't overdo it, (ala fdj), and ag2r tries valiantly to make these jerseys work with a nice match of blue with the white, and a hint of yellow to bring it out a bit, good effort. they crack the top ten.



8. caisse d'epargne.
i like this jersey, but in reality it is a cheap knock off of the csc jersey. it's like buying pants at old navy, sure they look nice... until you see them next to the real deal.
shame on caisse for not creating their own style, it is only because the csc jersey is so good that caisse manages a top ten placing.


7. liquigas.
these were the hottest jerseys on the block when they came out. crazy green and blue, bikes to match, and cipo on the team to make it all seem ok. well, cipo is gone, and color is not new, but still creative, (never seen on another team before, or since). i don't know how to feel about the stripes, but due to the proud history of good design on this team, i am going to give it a chance.


6. lampre.
this is where t-mobile and lotto have failed. if you are going to do pink, you have got to own it.
lampre rounds out 3 protour teams using pink, thats alot of pink. but where t-mobile tried to pretend it was a "tough" pink, and lotto tries to hide the pink under black, lampre owns it.


5. gerolsteiner.
never before have i seen a jersey embody its sponsor like this jersey does. if you didn't know what gerolsteiner was, just looking at the jersey would make you think: water.
excellent.


4. milram.
retro is so hot right now, and milram has tapped into that full on. another team that didn't take their good idea and go halfass with it. milram owns the retro styling, and anyone else that tries it is going to look sooooo lame.


3. bouygues telecom.
this is a jersey done right. simple. elegant. creative color, not seen elsewhere in the peloton.
it also works really well with the simple styling for the sponsors logo, which is important. you can have a sweet design, but if you slap a bunch of ass ugly crap on top, it loses it's appeal. (see astana).


2. credit agricole.
this is my personal favorite jersey. i like the simplicity, and contrast. ca owns the green color, and no one can do shit about it. (see unibet). to be successful in your design, you need to be recognizable, look good, stand out from the other jerseys in the pack, and do it all with class. a+.


1. csc.
it is hard to argue with the csc design. and it just keeps getting better every year. the black is bold, the red is powerful, and the white is clean, and lets the sponsors logos shine.
every detail of this jersey is well thought out, from the ab design, to adding wings to the back shoulders, without being corny! sleek and fast standing still, this is everything a jersey should strive to be.

the end.