After a season where we thought we might have to combine the colours of Soudal and Jumbo with all the accompanying wishful concepts, and wondered how Arkea red would go with B&B Hotels green, we finally have the first official team kits starting to come out for the 2024 season.
As usual, we’ll update this page as and when things get announced and or leaked.
Decathalon Ag2r (Again)
When I heard Decathalon Ag2r were changing their kit a mere 106 days after unveiling their new identity, I was relieved – obviously they’d seen the light and were bringing back brown shorts, right? Er, no. Turns out Decathalon themselves have had a rebrand, and now the kit has to change to reflect that.
Decathalon’s logo now features “the Orbit” which represents “a mountain, a sail, a wave, or even a heartbeat, the peak at the end of the Orbit closes the movement towards new heights.” It also features a new blue which is “vibrant and full of energy”, so that had to join the party as well.
The result is the “galaxy kit” – “a perfect fusion between the AG2R La Mondiale legacy and the new era of Decathlon.” Uh huh. Looks alot like the the other dark blue kits really, but in and of itself, it’s a reasonable kit. Nothing on the already classic Ag2r Citreon designs of course. And still highly improvable with some brown shorts.
Better than last year?: Not better than the old classics, but probably an improvement on the original fusion of the two names. Worryingly similar to Israel, Quick Step, Movistar and Alpecin though.
Alpecin Deceuninck (Again)
Alpecin managed a month of racing in their 2023 kit before suddenly pulling a bit of a shock by unveiling a double denim look to affront our eyes. “The denim kit is representing our team’s perspective for 2024: daring to stand out, while keeping our feet on the ground,” read a press release from the team. “Working hard together, while having fun together. Because jeans are great for any occasion, no?”
Well, it’s certainly different, although of course Carrera Jeans sponsored a team in the nineties who had a similar look. Mind, nothing says “middle aged man having a mid life crisis” than turning up on £10,000+ bike wearing a double-denim styled cycling kit with a hair loss shampoo emblazoned upon it.
As for “daring to stand out”, the kit now looks pretty similar to Soudal Quick Step, sharing the same white panel and red sponsor’s logo, which is another layer of confusion given Deceuninck used to sponsor Quick Step as well. Good luck Rob Hatch.
Better than last year?: Er…we’ll get back to you on that.
Lotto Dstny
No longer a WorldTour team, but still allowed to take part in all the top level races (so what exactly was the point in relegation?!) Lotto are still building to get back to the top table, where, er, they’ll still be able to ride the same races.
Their attempt to turn heads with their kit is limited to a simple update, with the blue of Dstny now a fade, and the orange swoosh now a symetrical chevron rather than a lopsided swoosh. Ridley are also now gone, with Orbea replacing them.
Better than last year? The little changes are improvements, although the all red and white design of yore was better.
Alpecin Deceuninck
Yeah it’s the same as last year. Probably because we all bought the World Champions jersey anyway.
Just pray that Podium Shorts don’t become a thing outside cyclocross.
Jayco Alula
So, apparently, this is inspired by the Australian sea, and desert, and the Aulua sunset. It ends up looking more like what would happen if they’d asked a group of eight year olds to design a jersey based on Australia once they’d disgarded all the gold and green kangaroos.
The dark blue on the flanks and sleeves does look smart, but it’s otherwise a bit of a colour clash that doesn’t yell the Australian identity they seem to think it does.
Better than last year? Hard to be worse, but they’ve probably managed it. Will probably grow on us.
EF Education Easy Post
Leaked by the Tour Down Under start list, EF have seemingly decided to disguise Richard Carapaz’s Olympic champions jersey by making everyone have a yellow/gold highlighting on their traditional pink. Of course, they’ll have to change at the Giro, and Rapha will construct something zany. It’s nice to see they’ve actually done so here as well.
Better than last year? They’ve finally changed the black armband which made it look like they were permanently in memorium to someone, which is better.
Intermarche Wanty
Another year of collaboration with style.design, another fresh, good looking kit for the team who have dropped “Circus” from their name this year. The Navy and Neon have quickly become their trademark, and the asymetric design this year follows last year, when they had a variety of versions for different races.
Better than last year? Probably – still not going to buy one though.
Lidl Trek
Boldy already saying their kit is “iconic”, Lidl Trek have only been in it since July, and are keeping it a little longer. Wouldn’t be surprised to see it changing in July again…
Better than last year? It’s, er, identical.
Visma Lease a Bike
We thought they might end up combining Blue and yellow (would they have been green?) when they talked of subsuming Quick Step, but now they’re losing Jumbo, and with it they’re left with Visma, whose logo is red, and Lease a Bike, who don’t really have any colours. The result?
Well, they’re sticking with yellow, the colour they’ve been with for the last few years, adding on the honeycomb design they’ve had to be a bit more obvious in the whole “killer bees” name thing (apparently they’re thinking of branding as “Yellow B”…) and otherwise not doing much. Black cuffs now highlight SRAM’s input, and of course, we’ll be getting another version in July, as this won’t wash with ASO.
Better than last year? Adding the honey comb pattern is a nice touch, but it’s a bit dull still, and looks strangely empty. The inevitable Tour version will no doubt have more personality.
Movistar
The stars of making exactly the same jersey over and over, it’s no different for Movistar this year.
Yep, it’s blue again, and aside from a logo that looks like 100 to celebrate Telefonica (their sponsor’s parent company) having their centenary, it’s added some designs that “look like fibres and networks” – to someone anyway. People who bought last year’s kit won’t need to worry about anything having changed much.
Better than last year? You wouldn’t really know it’s any different from last year if you weren’t told, although the addition of some graphics to mirror what the sponsor does, typically a no no, are some welcome noise on what has otherwise just been a block of colour for years.
Israel – Premier Tech
Having managed to wear three different jerseys in 2023, Israel had lots of ideas to choose from to create the 2024 version Would they go full Giro wine in 2024?
Hmm, nope. They’ve kept an abstract blue, although they claim the “elegant, clean” design is based on their Giro jersey, which definitely had more grape-red/purple in it. It’s not exactly a thrilling design, but it’s pleasant enough.
Better than last year? Pretty much the same to be honest – the 2022 Giro Fantini inspired kit was the best they’ve had in recent years.
Astana Qazaqstan
Unfortunately for them, Astana managed to do their kit reveal on the same day Tadej Pogacar announced he’d ride the Giro, so they were rather relegated in the news pecking order. They had a new designer in Biemme, who apparently have been around since 1978.
What they’ve essentially done is taken the mineral style design of the team’s 2023 Tour de France change kit (they wore it at the Vuelta as well) and slapped it on the bottom of the regular jersey. Perhaps they’ve decided the time is now to reclaim Kazakh (Qazaq?) minerals from Borat, who famously had the nation’s anthem as “Kazakhstan number one exporter of Potassium, all other nations have inferior Potassium.”
Better than last year? It tries to combine both the versions of the kits they had last season into a version that is somehow less a sum of its parts. Should have stuck with the full mineral design.
Soudal Quick Step
Introduced via Julian Alaphilippe lip syncing to Celine Dion (yes, really), Quick Step (we still call them that, sorry Soudal) are moving back to a more classic look, with more blue than before. The blocky design on 2023 has gone, and the Quick Step logo is back in White on Blue, rather than blue on white:
For once, the Castelli jerseys don’t seem to have a collar, which they’ve usually used for past national champions bands. Still, the introduction of some lighter blue on the shoulder to contrast with the classic dark blue is nice, and once again, they have one of the nicest kits in the pack.
Better than last year? Yes, the sleeve design and “flow” of it all, which is apparently because it’s trying to mirror the sea and sky thanks to their environmental commitments, is all very nice. The red bar of Soudal integrates much better this year as well. Just a shame they have to have that Napoleon nonsense on the sleeves.
Bora Hansgrohe
I mean, seriously, what the heck Bora:
A switch back to Sportful from Le Col has seen all the nice contrasting red and black panels vanish, and instead, they seem to have decided to utilise all the worst shades of green that are available. No wonder Uijtdebroeks wanted to leave if he saw he was going to have to wear this monstrosity. “It will make the team more visible when training and racing” says the bumph. Well yeah, but everyone will recoil in disgust.
Roglic must be wondering what on Earth he has done – he better like the “Primoz Froglic” nickname. Still, thanks to ASO deciding to ruin the green jersey with the exact same shade of green, they’ll be changing this in July anyway.
Better than last year? This is the worst thing they’ve ever done.
UAE Team Emirates
Just when you thought you’d seen the last of Tadej Pogacar in a white jersey, Pissei go and, er, take the piss by doing this:
Yep, UAE have dropped the black sleeves and Gillet style look for an all white, “pure white, pure speed” look. The UAE hoops around the stomach have been replaced with a little red, green and black graphic that isn’t all that obvious, and are mostly drowned out by the phalanx of sponsors the team seem to need to have.
Better than last year? I mean it’s just the same kit with white sleeves effectively. Meh.
Cofidis
A new manufacturer in Mobel, but the same kit for Cofidis, who stick with last year’s winning asymmetric design. They’re probably just desperate not to change anything after breaking their 15 year duck at the Tour de France, else they jinx things and end up waiting even half as long again.
They have added some white to the shoulder though, which neatens things up so that it doesn’t look like they have a gillet on. Which is an important consideration, I’ll have you know.
Better than last year? Small improvements on an already beautiful jersey.
Bahrain Victorious
Having gone to “Team Pearl” at the Tour last year to celebrate Bahrain’s history of scraping minerals out of molluscs, Bahrain have seen that white is right (ooh err) and made the switch permanent, replacing the red, orange and black “hellscape they’d previously worn since their inception in 2017. Supposedly it represents their dedication to cut emissions by 2030, which will give the sportswashing writers plenty to get vocal about, especially with Bapco Energies now on the jersey given it’s the Oil and Gas industry of Bahrain.
Apparently the strips of gold on the kit hark back to their foundations, but it’s not entirely clear where these are. They have, of course, added “Ride for Gino” onto the kit after Mader’s tragic death last year.
Better than last year? The Gold trim on the Tour jersey was better last year, although it does look odd against tanned legs, which might be why it’s gone now.
Arkea – B&B Hotels
Everyone’s favourite French Credit Mutual and Bed and Breakfast hotelier (yes, that’s what the B&B stands for) have teamed up this year, twelve months after B&B Hotels almost had a team under Jerome Pineau to support Mark Cavendish, until it became clear that the money being sought wasn’t available. Having wowed us with many interesting black and green designs over their short history, we had high hopes for B&B in their return, tempered as it would be by Arkea being a bank – banks are famously dull and unadventurous in their kits (see Rabobank, Credit Agricole, et all).
And they’ve managed the best of both worlds. Whilst at a glance they retain the all red aesthetic the team have had since flirting with and joining the WorldTour (and aknowledge it has become a “mark of recognition for fans”), closer inspection shows they’ve actually instituted a series of crests and badges onto one side of it, as part of the jersey’s inspiration by, er, Excalibur.
For yes, apparently, Brittany, where the team is based, is heavily linked to the Arthurian legend, having presumably imported it at the same time people moved from Great Britain to Brittany (hence the names). Hence the impressively misty and mythic video announcement in an enchanted forest and featuring Arnaud Demare brandishing a sword, which presumably elevates him back to being King of the Sprints (hurr-hurr). It does mean they spend lots of time writing about “writing the legend” of the team, although sadly there’s only a small sword logo on the collar.
Better than last year? I mean they unveiled it in a forest with Excalibur, it’s excellent.
Ineos Grenadiers
Inadvertently leaked by Egan Bernal on Instagram, Ineos now have kit made by Gobik, a Spanish company formed in the same year as the team, 2010. Sky/Ineos have been hopping around different kit manufacturers it seems, having now had Adidas, Rapha, Castelli, Bioracer and Gobik.
Not that Gobik have seemingly decided to do much with their new charge: their website promises “clean lines” as an aesthetic, so maybe we shouldn’t have expected anything particularly mindblowing, especially as Ineos have rigidly stuck to a thrillingly dull corporate look since joining the WorldTour in 2019. A horizontal and thus asymmetric fade from Orange to Blue should be bold, but somehow isn’t, and whilst we haven’t seen the back of the jersey, we can assume the infamous “Line” will be back. In a year where the team desperately needs a pepping up and some injection of intensity, this doesn’t inspire much confidence, nor back that notion up in the clothing department.
The Line is indeed back, and Gobik call the colour scheme “Red”, which seems odd when it’s clearly orange. It is an odd kit – it can’t seem to make up its mind if its bold or subdued, and tried to fit both those looks onto one design. It still doesn’t help that the Ineos logo has about four different fonts in it, and the different widths of stripes seem a bit random.
Perhaps they’re preparing for some sort of alignment with Man Utd when Ineos eventually buy them, which is seemingly still dragging on.
Better than last year? Can’t decide what it wants to be. Easily mistaken for their old training kits.
Decathalon AG2R La Mondiale
It would seem that commentators are going to have a fun time on 2024, as here’s another tongue twister for them, as French sporting goods retailer Decathalon replaces Citreon and bumps Ag2r down to secondary sponsor, apparently with a large influx of cash (apparently Citreon did that as well, so who knows what they were on before – peanuts, I guess)
They’ve kept the asymetrical slanted logo design, and added some Decathalon Blue, which makes it all look like they selected it from a template last night having realised the presentation was this morning. The real issue however, is of course, the death of their infamous brown shorts. RIP, 2010-2023. Why? Well, some journalist will surely ask the question, but it’s sad to see them go. Ag2r never necessarily had the best riders, or the results, to fill our hearts with joy, but they had the brown shorts – an in-joke, a piece of culture, a beautiful identifying feature that gave identity and recognition to their team. They even took the mick out of themselves last year with the denim variants at Strade Bianche.
And now it’s gone. Plain old Ag2r again then, with a generic cookie-cutter kit, and not as cool bikes (sorry, Van Rysel)
Of course, those with long memories will recall that in 2001, Ag2r were also sponsored by Decathalon, and were, depending on which magazine you read, known as Ag2r-Decathalon. Historial symmetry as always. Very much a jersey of their time they had as well.
Better than last year? No, there’s no brown shorts!
Team dsm-firmenich PostNL
Announced as part of a sponsorship agreement with PostNL, who, as the name suggests, are the Dutch National post office, the not particularly catchily named team now at least have a jersey that isn’t just black and boring as it has been 2021. With a Dutch sponsor, they’ve finally added a splash of colour, and the “Keep Challenging” stripes (which, lest we forget, have meaning apparently – the left is “the continuous development of each person” and the right is “the ever-improving innovative environment”) are now orange, having previously been white, black, or very light blue.
This means the team will actually stand out in the peloton for once, and also hopefully stems the tide of rebrands they’ve had in the last few years: this is their third in just sixth months, having started the year as plain old Team DSM. We can also surely prepare for plenty of “Team dsm-firmenich PostNl Delivers!” adverts and mocked up images of riders as postmen…
Having shown off a “concept” a while back, DSM then suggested we’d see the “full” version later – and then showed off the exact same thing. Still, good they didn’t change a winning concept in terms of visibility.
Better than last year? It’s easy to liven up the dullest kit in the peloton, so if the new one remains anything like their concept, they’ll do well – except blue and white seems popular this year.
Sicycle 
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