Thomas Siniecki, Media365: published on Saturday November 9, 2024 at 11:33 a.m.
A priori, it will no longer be possible to confuse Tadej Pogacar (or a teammate) with the best young person on the Tour.
After the pink and blue (points classification jersey) of the Giro or of course the yellow of the Tour de France, the UCI also wants to wash whiter. Control of the design and especially the tone of the jerseys will be further strengthened by the International Union for next season. The first drafts were presented by the teams at the end of September and the limit is set for December 1, with the color white particularly in the viewfinder, so as not to be confused with the tunics of the best young people on the big Tours. UAE Emirates, Tadej Pogacar's team, is on the front line and has indicated that black will be added to the 2024 jersey, but this would be a decision already taken upstream and internally without influence from the UCI . Manager Mauro Gianetti is still a little bitter: “The UCI takes control of the colors, eight teams have a blue jersey and there will be even more next year…”
A maximum of three “alternative” spares allowed per year
EF Education – EasyPost had already had to change its outfit specifically for the Tour of Italy, as did Visma – Lease a Bike for the Tour de France. And the new UCI regulations now cover all Grand Tour jerseys, so green will also be affected. For all other races, the body asks roughly the same thing from the organizers, namely to ensure that the distinctive jerseys are sufficiently different from those of the teams and national champions.
But concerning the three major Tours (Italy, France, Spain), it will be the opposite from now on: it is up to the teams to comply. The specific design must even be communicated six months in advance. As for the overall jersey of the year, a main style must be approved but several “alternative” spares are also allowed, three at most. Tolerance is higher on various sponsor display reversals during the season, if necessary.
