Number 911

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Now that 2011 is firmly underway, let's take a look at the jerseys we will be seeing a lot of in the next 12 months:

Team Leopard Trek goes the high brow route ( ala Team Sky )
with this Banana Repubic minimal design. 
This jersey looks like something Martha Steward
would come up with if she had to design a kit & therefore
we have a feeling this will be popular with the ipad crowd.
Luxembourg must like it's cycling jerseys like it likes its army....
Minimal and unimpressive!
GRADE    B

This is probably the AG2R Mondiale design but
it hasn't been widely confirmed as such.
It sucks.
GRADE  D-

Team Astana gets a little more fast looking this year.
The streamlined shapes are a solid improvement
over last year. Slowly we are getting used to those puke colors.
GRADE   B-

Garmin Cervelo's kit was probably the most anticipated re-do
of the year & sure enough it storms in like a Fortune 500 Company .
The Argyle is slowly being killed off ( sad face ).
It ends up being more Test Team than Slipstream but
in the end we can't argue with this solidly striking design.
The only demerit is that large "E" on the shoulder.
GRADE   A-

Geox Fuji breaks onto the scene with a good effort.
This kit ends up being too black though
which will only draw attention to the
hideously colored bikes they will be riding.
( look for a picture of those soon )
GRADE   B-

Saxo Bank Sungard looks to silence the naysayers
with this slight departure from 2010. Somehow,
this is the only "white" jersey of the year that pulls it off.
White with some black accents - good
Strong logo representation - good
Asymmetrical artwork and detailing - good
Eagles pecking at your navel - bad.
GRADE   A

htc highroad ( must be in lower case letters!!! do not forget! )
This kit leaves a lot to be desired.... A LOT.
Broken color shapes, a sea of white, and way too thin material.
The only patterns and flow on this kit are created by
the visible bib seams underneath!
Yuck! Let's hope they make a throwback jersey or something for the tour.
GRADE   C
SPECIAL AWARD - MOST DE-IMPROVED

Here is Team Katusha's kit
( or "Katiowa" if you are a newbie fan seeing it for the first time )
This kit looks good. Although some may say its shapes and detailing
are a little 2009. I for one, think the "pointy abs of speed" trend can
hang on for one more year.
GRADE   B+

Oh Lampre Pink and purple...
Like Bob Roll, Twitter and Katie Perry, you have slowly worn
us out with your annoying-ness. Your sticktoitiveness is impressive.
We love you now. We embrace you. We can't live without you.
GRADE   B-

 

Licky Gas 's 2nd leaked kit is pictured here on Basso.
This one is no doubt the real deal for 2011 and even
though it is yet another mostly white jersey,
the restrained use of color is a step-up up from 2010.
The lower stomach section with the traditional points and curves
are boring & should have been made unfashionable years ago.
If there is one bright spot to the Sky \ Leopard
new school of thought, it is that jerseys can now be
plain on the abs of the rider.
GRADE    B+

The NASCARification of the ProTour is
illustrated well with the Omega Pharma\ Lotto Kit.
Still, the design has overall appeal and the use of
color is spot on. This one seems to mix all the new 2011 trends
well and it comes out perhaps the best looking of the year.
GRADE   A+

Movistar will be riding its rookie season
in this kit. We are guessing that design on the left
makes reference to a movie reel. It's a good effort, blending simplicity with flash.
Here is some advice for the riders.... If you want to sneak into a break,
attack or bridge up from the right side of the road!
GRADE   B

Team Quickstep begins it 600th year of pro cycling sponsorship
with this design. Definitely more playful and fun than year's past.
A step up we say, and a improvement over last year. 
It  may have been top-o-the-class without those red stomach stripes though.
GRADE    A-

Rabobank has been on this large-geometric-shape kick
for a couple of years now. Each year it looks worse then the year
before. Someone please kill off this concept.
GRADE   F
SPECIAL AWARD - WORST LOOKING 2011

This photo of a Francis de Jeux rider was taken during
a recent cross race & very well could be the road jersey for 2011.
It shows that FDJ is on the right track but it also
confirms that white is "the" color for the new year.

Lance was recently pictured with this kit. More pictures need to
released and this may look nothing like the finished product.
But this direction seems solid and has a lot of potential.
GRADE   A
( but please see the teacher after school )

Omitted from the ProTeam run-down was:
Team Sky ( unchanged from 2010 )
Euskaltel (unreleased, or no one cares enough to take a picture of it)
Vacansoleil -DCM ( also unreleased )
Team BMC - nearly unchanged from 2010, which ironically is the same as their chances at Le Tour.

As the remaining team's kits become known, they will be posted here and given there fair chance to play.

Here is a look at some US domestic teams new race clothes.