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The argyle squad will race in a limited edition team jersey for the 2015 Tour de France, created by its innovative Italian clothing partner, Castelli. The new jersey retains the distinctive Cannondale and Garmin logos, but reverse black with Cannondale’s signature shade of green. The signature Slipstream Sports argyle is prominently displayed in blue on front and back. “We’re really excited about the Tour de France kit,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports “The lighter color is perfect for hot weather and our signature argyle is more prominent.” Castelli has multiple times in the history introduced
 new clothing for the Tour de France. “We consider the Tour de France a very special event that deserves a special design,” said Steve Smith, Castelli Brand Manager. “This team is rider-centric, and Castelli has done its part to make sure the riders have the most comfortable and technically advanced clothing for this big event. Racing in hot weather is physically demanding, that’s a given, and despite the fact that Castelli makes some of the lightest and coolest fabrics in existence, wearing a lighter color will make a big difference, both psychologically and physically, to a rider’s well being,” explained Steve Smith. The limited ...

Since 2007, Team MTN-Qhubeka have focused on becoming the first African team at the Le Tour de France, and that dream was realised this year when the team received a wildcard invitation to the Grande Boucle. “For us and across South Africa and Africa, when people talk about cycling, they talk about the Tour de France,” says Douglas Ryder, MTN-Qhubeka’s team principal. “It’s as if there is no other race. They don’t understand that as a team we race 200 race days to prepare and get ready and get strong enough to be able to compete in a Grand Tour like the Tour de France.” The team are hoping that participation and success in the world’s biggest bicycle race will aspire more interest in the sport among Africans, eventually producing more homegrown talent. “Having a team like ours, with a uniquely different story and riders from all over the African continent, we know that it will just raise the profile and it will kick the door open for African cyclists into the future,” Ryder says.

This week’s Dubai Tour (February 4-7) is drawing big names, including Vincenzo Nibali, reigning Tour de France champion; Mark Cavendish, winner of 43 Grand Tour stages; Alejandro Valverde, winner of the 2014 UCI WorldTour ranking; Tony Martin, three times UCI Time Trial World Champion; Joaquim Rodríguez, two times winner of Il Lombardia; Philippe Gilbert, former UCI Road World Champion and John Degenkolb, 10-time winner of Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España stages. The four road stages, totalling 663 kilometres, will kick-off Wednesday with a flat stage concluding with four laps of an 8.2km circuit and finish at the Union House Flag.     Stage two is a similar fare, with a finish on the iconic palm island for what is likely to be another bunch sprint. The big showdown will take place on stage three when Nibali, Valverde, Rodriguez and Gilbert will go wheel-to-wheel. The organisers consider it a ‘medium mountain stage’, the riders are sent back and forth in the rugged Hajar Mountains, resulting in two climbs at 10% and one climb at 7%, while the finale is a short ascent with a steepest section of 17%. The GC riders will need to rid themselves of the sprinters on the final climb as time bonuses could otherwise come into play ...

Design by Sir Paul Smith and innovative fabric technology and fit by Castelli headline the 2015 Dubai Tour leader’s jersey. RCS Sport today unveiled the Official Dubai Tour 2015 leader’s jersey, designed by the British fashion designer Paul Smith and produced by the innovative Italian clothing partner Castelli. The four race jerseys, will be worn by the leaders of each race classification. Sir Paul Smith himself, who is arguably the most successful designer in British history, was behind the decision to partner with the Dubai Tour. He has been a cyclist for many years and has a passion for the sport, its heritage and its culture. Paul Smith’s iconic style is clearly evident in the design of the four jerseys and Sir Paul Smith’s signature will be very evident on the back and collar of the jerseys. “I was very pleased to be asked to design the Dubai Tour jerseys,” said Sir Paul Smith. “There are four jerseys, one for each of the different classifications and a key consideration in the design of each was keeping the riders cool. Working with Castelli, I’ve used a breathable fabric on the front, there’s a full zip that they can open if they need to cool ...

MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung announced today that they have received an invitation to compete for the first time at this year’s Amgen Tour of California. The Amgen Tour of California is America’s premier cycling race and takes place from 10-17 May.  The team has been invited to a series of top-level races. They received their first Grand Tour invitation to the Vuelta a España last year and recently received a wildcard invitation to compete at the Tour de France in July, making them the first African-registered team to compete at the French Grand Tour. The team have bolstered their roster this year with a series of new signings including Matthew Goss from Orica-GreenEdge, Tyler Farrar from Garmin-Sharp, Theo Boss from Belkin, Edvald Boasson Hagen from Team Sky and Steven Cummings from the BMC squad. American sprinter Farrar won stage 4 of the Tour of California during the 2013 edition. After spending most of his career with Jonathan Vaughters’ Slipstream Sports, he made the move to MTN-Qhubeka for the next two seasons and will no doubt want to represent his new team in California. “It’s exciting for the team to be debuting in the race,” said TT specialist Steve Cummings. “We don’t know the parcours yet but there ...