LITP KIT LAUNCH

To celebrate the launch of the MAAP Life in the Peloton kit, here is an excerpt from the Life in the Peloton book, taking you through my take on each of the pro team kits that I raced in, along with a few tips and tricks to make any kit your own -

Even though these days wearing pro kit isn’t really the ‘done’ thing, when I started out riding,
I’d wear old pro team kit. It was cool back then, but more to the point I wasn’t from a wealthy
family so my only option to have any sort of kit whatsoever was hand me downs or buying
second-hand stuff from the pros.

The way it worked in Australia then, a lot of pros would come over and race the Herald Sun
Tour in Melbourne at the end of the year, and there was a big sort of jumble sale after the
last stage where they would literally sell all their kit out of a suitcase to make some cash at
the end of the year.

As they hadn’t paid for it themselves, they would flog it off at dirt cheap prices. Twenty bucks
for a pair of shorts, twenty bucks for a jersey, you could even pick up a rarity like a team
helmet. So, if you were lucky, you’d end up with full matching pro kit.
It was a funny thing, sometimes you’d see the rider finish and he’d still be sweaty from the
race as he opened up his suitcase and started flogging off his kit.
You’d ask: ‘how much for the shorts?

‘I don’t have any left.’

'No, the ones you’re wearing.’

You’d get a bit of a surprised, ‘I dunno, ten bucks?’

Then he’d go out the back, take them off, and give you this warm sweaty pair of shorts to
take home!

It was great. I’d save up all my money for it. It was like going to the Melbourne Show for me.
It was such a funny moment for me when I rode the Sun Tour and got to do the exact same
thing. I remember thinking as I stood over my sweaty Skil kit piled in my kitbag, ‘I’ve made it,
I’ve really made it!’

When you turn pro you suddenly have all the kit in the world. There is something that was
special and exciting every year when I’d get a new suitcase packed full of gear. No matter
how old or grumpy a pro gets I’m sure that feeling every year when the kit turns up is still a
bit special.

Likewise it still matters to pros whether their own team kit looks cool or not, but the problem
when you are a slave to your sponsors is that you have exactly no say in what it will look
like.

The thing to remember is that whatever kit is dealt up to you, there is always something you
can do to make it at least a bit cool... Here is my take on the kits from my career, with a few
tips of the trade as to how I made them work. Or not.
Skil Shimano 2009 - This was my first full matching pro kit, and it’s still one of my favorites.
The design was awesome: light blue diagonal stripes on the white background, with SKIL in
big red letters. It was all at once Euro and retro (the design referenced the Skil team from the
1980’s).

By today’s standards the quality and quantity of the kit itself was pretty average, and we
didn’t have any options to customize the length of our shorts (like everyone does now) or
have heavier fabric for the cold races. My solution was to take the thermal winter tights that
we got and cut them just above the knee for the classics.

The idea was to keep my quadriceps and hammys warm, yet not get restricted or too hot
wearing full length bib tights. Plus, there was an element of just looking cool and different. I
also cut my long sleeve top at the elbow. Same theory, a warmer jersey but not as restricting
as wearing a full long sleeve.

I also used to cut my caps. Andrea Tafi was the king of the cut cap world. He even raced
Roubaix in just a cap with the crown cut out. Part headband – part cap. Genius, and very
cool. Back then, it was quite common to train or ride back from a stage without a helmet. So,
being young and from Australia (where helmets are mandatory) I took advantage of that and
would try different styles out. Straight cap after the stage or to the sign on, cut cap in the
summer, and a head band over my mullet for the classics recons...

Our rain gear (ironically for a team from the North of Europe) was rubbish. I was always
adding bits here and there which I’d beg and borrow from other pro’s or from shops. I used
these black overshoes from the Aussie national team (with the brand blacked out with
marker pen). I even raced in neoprene gloves from the HTC team that Hayden Roulston
gave me, and I set to work with the marker pen on. I also had a Rabobank rain jacket that I
picked up (more on that later...) and even though I never actually wore kit from another rival
(Dutch) team in a race, I used it all the time in training!

GreenEdge: I loved Greenedge as a team - the culture, the squad - but the kit design... it
just never blew me away. It was always basic, and safe. We changed quite a bit over the
years, from green and black, to green, blue and white, and eventually to blue and yellow
before I left. But it was always just block colours, with no real design idea behind it. I needed
something with a bit more of a statement.

As a rider there are a few things that you can do to try and to change things up and get away
with it. In 2013 I got a contract with a shoe sponsor, Northwave. Off the back of being part of
my sponsorship deal I managed to get to wear my own socks instead of the team ones. I
went for crisp white socks, with a good length, and I asked for as many pairs as I needed to
always have fresh ones to race in. I also teamed that up with a very loud red and yellow pair of oversocks (in total contrast to the team colours. I managed to get through the classics
season before the team put a halt to that...

The next year though I got around the block on my yellow and red oversocks. In 2014 I
changed to Bontrager shoes, and when they asked what colour I would like, I didn’t hesitate,
“Yep. I’ll take red please.”

Just like the oversocks the shoes were in total contrast to the kit, and they stood out a mile. I
felt put my mark on the kit and it made me that little bit different from the rest.
EF - The first EF kit was by POC and was nothing special. We had pink, white and black kit,
with some red text, some green and lime green bikes. It was such a mess there wasn’t even
much to do to contrast it. I went for blue shoes though of course... as it was basically the
only colour they hadn’t jammed in there.

The following year things changed for the better and 2019 was the first year that I was
genuinely completely satisfied with my team kit. The kit was bright pink with an acid fade into
blue shorts, and it stood out a mile. For the next couple of years that I was there the kit
design was tweaked but the principal remained the same: it was loud and it made a
statement, and that was perfect for me.

By 2019 of course there was less and less adjusting to do. We had kit for every occasion
and unlike in the early days you could request that the sleeves be a bit longer, or the shorts
would come to the exact point you wanted on your thigh.
As a pro you won’t get to choose your kit design – and some years will be better than others,
but there is always something you can do to stand out from the crowd.