EF Pro Cycling’s men’s and women’s teams will wear a green jersey bearing a giant alien’s head at the Giro d’Italia, as part of their tradition of swapping kits at the race.
The two WorldTour teams, EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Oatly, typically wear pink kit, but are unable to at the Giro due to a colour clash with the leader’s jersey.
Starting with the men’s race on 8 May, the riders will wear a design called ‘Ride in Peace’, created by Swiss clothing brand Assos, who took over supplying to the squads at the start of this season, and are continuing a trend of bold kits set by their predecessors at Rapha.
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“Every year, EF Pro Cycling famously departs from its traditional pink to avoid clashing with the Giro’s iconic leader’s jersey. This year, that exchange has been replaced by a signal from beyond, hovering between space and time,” Assos wrote in a press release.
(Image credit: Assos)
According to the brand, the launch comes at the intersection of “where interstellar design meets podium-proven performance”. The “cosmic narrative” of the kit – which also features crop-circle-like shapes and a black-and-white cow hovering upside down – is said to “transcend the earth” and “redefine what a professional cycling kit can represent”.
“We believe innovation happens when you challenge conventions,” said Assos CEO Edwin Navez, “both in how products perform and how they are expressed. Too often in this sport, performance and identity are treated separately. We don’t see it that way.”
EF made headlines in 2020 when they turned up to the Giro team presentation in a kit with a cartoon duck on the front, a collaboration between then sponsor Rapha and skateboard brand Palace. The team was subsequently fined £3,700 by the UCI for “non-compliant” clothing, which proved a small price to pay for the popularity of the limited-edition kit, which sold out in minutes.
(Image credit: Getty Images)
In 2021, 2022 and 2024, the team wore predominantly black jerseys, swapping to a patchwork of colourful panels in 2023 to highlight Rapha’s ‘excess collection’ sustainability scheme. Last year, both teams wore white jerseys studded with a diamond pattern.
The men’s Giro d’Italia starts in Bulgaria on 8 May and closes on 31 May. The nine-stage women’s race will run from 31 May to 7 June.
EF’s alien-themed kit is available to buy now as part of a limited release on Assos’s website.
Soudal Quick-Step and Ineos Grenadiers will also wear different kits at the Italian Grand Tour. The former will wear a vintage cream jersey in tribute to the 150th anniversary of its kit supplier Castelli. Ineos, meanwhile, will debut a grey kit in the launch of their new identity as Netcompany-Ineos, announced last week.
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