#1404

After a bit of a delay the 2013 Team Kit review is here. The off season was a quiet one in comparison to year's past. A bit solemn as well with some long running sponsors peeling the graphics off the team buses for the last time. It is going to be a transition year of sorts for pro-cycling. As such, kits designs, sponsors, and equipement took a little more time to finalize. And it still is being sorted out as of the time of this writing. (Whoever handles the graphics\kit for Team Katusha no-doubt deserves a raise. )

Here goes... The good, the bad, the Rockstar.

Black continues to be the "in" color for the peleton.
Team Eurocar looks a little less green goblin for 2013
and in the process, puts themselves in the running for most improved.
Grade - B+

Team IAM Cycling is a new Swiss team.
While the very-dark-blue, almost black is a nice change,
this kit falls flat due to lack of creativity.
Like most things Swiss, this kit looks best in the morning,
in a room with high wooded vaulted ceilings, with DJ Tiesto playing.
Grade - B-

 

Lance Armstrong confessing and this jersey still being around.
2 things that no right-thinking individual would believe 2 years ago.
Somehow tho, the AG2R "argyle" looks better this year than last.
The brown color is still off-putting to say the least.
But hey, if there's anything the last couple of weeks have taught us, it's that the French may deserve more credit than they are given.
Grade - B-

Only minor changes to the BMC Walt Disney's Tron kit.
They dump Hincapie and take on Pearl Izumi as manufacturer.
Still one of the better ones out there.
Grade - A-

Every year the 5 most powerful families in Futbol get together and
pick out a kit that will insure soccer's place as the planet's most
popular sport. This year, the Argos Shimano kit
is what they came up with.
There are at least 4 or 5 better ways to do all white...
Ok, maybe just 2 or 3
Grade - D

Cycling fans all over owe C-dale praise for stepping in
as Liquigas was stepping out. The kit hits all the high marks and
was one of the 3 in the running for best of the year...
It comes up a bit short in the originality department though.
It does get the nod for MOST IMPROVED 2013
Grade - A

Meh. Call us when Petacchi retires.
Grade - C+

With this kit, Team RadioShack takes one step closer
to being welcome to compete only in Men's over 40 softball leagues.
At first glance this kit offends a viewer more than seeing Johan
behind the wheel of the teamcar, but it is our guess that this
jersey will grow on fans as the year goes on.
Even still, it takes the WORST IMPROVED 2013 award.
Grade - D+

Blanco Giant rises from the ashes of Rabobank but
makes a bad turn in the originality department.
As any Craft or Assos catalog printed in the last 8
years will point out, long horizontal stripes and half & half's
stopped being cool in 2001. In the 3 or 4 years we've reviewed kits,
never has one so easily taken WORST OF THE YEAR 2013.
Grade - F

Any longtime fan of C.A.N.R.S. knows we've been hard on Rapha
in the past, but the site is going on the record here as saying
that it is long overdue for them to be involved
in road-pro jersey design. The Sky kit, as does the team in general, plots a course to where few can follow.
If we hear another person ask if the all black is
going to be too hot for the summer, we are changing the name of this site to
"NascarDriversAreNotRockstars.com"
to seek out more intelligent readers.
Grade - A+

 

NetApp will be a strong team, mark those words.
The kit however, tries too hard to be
fashionably-black and swiss-smart.
Ends up looking like a chinese designed Omega Pharma kit.
Grade - D+

Minor changes for the team that snagged the Manx Missile.
The high-tech black to teal fade is a great touch & the designers of the kit found a way to make it work with the all white sections.
Grade - A-

Team Type 1 changes to Novo-Nordisk in 2013 and the kit goes properly with it. This is one of the aforementioned 2 or 3 ways to do all white. Think summertime polo in the backyard of a British castle. The all white bibs keep this from making a serious run at best of the year.
(hint for kit designers going forward, you NEVER win best of the year with all white bibs. It is simply a physical impossibility of the universe we inhabit.)
Grade - B+

With such striking colors, the Euskaltel team kit has so much potential every season. While this iteration is a big move in the right direction it still ends up being one of the head-scratchers of the year. Hang in there Spain, you'll be back on top soon enough.
Grade - B

Leaving us with the stand-out of the year...
Saxo Bank and the eagle slaying co-sponsor, Tinkoff. This kit was a stand-out from last year and without the NFL-ish bird of prey on the backside, 2013's version gets onto the top step.
Bold shapes, great logo incorporation, fantastic colors.
Is there room for improvement? You betcha.
But the same can be said for pro cycling in general.
BEST OF 2013 \ Grade A+

As always, feel free to leave your comments below.