Cycling Jersey Brands to be Worn at the Tour de France 2021
One of the interesting yet curious pieces of equipment the pro use is their kits; jerseys, bibs, and socks. With professional cycling, it’s often not easy to determine the clothing brands as there are usually many brands printed on the jersey.
The average cycling fan will have a harder time figuring this out unless it’s from leading brands such as Rapha or Castelli.
So, we’ll break things down for you.
When it comes to cycling jersey brands in the Tour de France, it’s quite a mixed bag this year. There are 17 clothing brands being worn by the 23 teams. Brands with Italian heritage lead the pack with ALE being worn by three teams each, followed by Santini, Giordana, Nalini, and Vermarc (a Belgian brand) with two teams respectively.
Most of the leading cycling clothing brands are represented this year with the exception of Endura who used to Movistar up until 2019.
Let’s take a deeper look at each brand.
AGU
Dutch brand AGU B.V. is part of a larger group AGU Holding which also owns Fast Forward Wheels. Based out of Alkmaar in the central Netherlands, their cycling jersey is worn by last year’s runner-up and 2x Vuelta Espana winner, Primoz Roglic, and his team Jumbo-Visma.
AGU sells a complete range of cycling clothing from jerseys to bibs, gloves, helmets, and sunglasses.
While the actual team jersey is not available for sale, fans can buy the replica version at their online store.
- Worn by : Team Jumbo-Visma
- More info : AGU
ALE
Known for its fluro yellow designs, ALE (pronounced as Allez) is based near the town of Castel d’Ario in the Province of Mantua in Northern Italy, It’s also part of the APG group which owns brands such as Cipollini bikes and DMT shoes. Now you know why these brands always appear together in commercials.
Unlike many other clothing brands, ALE’s clothing is still being manufactured in Italy in order for them to have a full control on the production process and end quality.
- Worn by : Bahrain Victorious, Groupama FDJ, Movistar Team
- More info : ALE
Assos
Swiss brand Assos is a joint name sponsor for Team Qhubeka-Assos. They’re well-known for their very high-quality bib shorts such as the Equipe RS S9 which will be worn by riders at the Tour de France.
Besides bib shorts, Assos have a complete range of cycling clothing including winter jackets on their website and you can also often find great discounts on past season’s styles.
- Worn by : Team Qhubeka Assos
- More info : Assos
Castelli
Leading Italian brand Castelli is no stranger to cycling. Its roots date back to 1910 when they made their first cycling clothing for the world and 5X Giro d’Italia champion, Alfredo Binda. In recent years, they were known as the creators of the Gabba and Perfetto jacket, a foul weather jacket that provides riders with maximum protection, especially during the spring classics.
In this year’s Tour de France, Ineos Grenadiers riders will be wearing their Free Aero Race 6.0 jersey on flat stages, Climbers 3.0 SL jersey on hilly stages together with their latest Premio bib shorts.
- Worn by : Ineos Grenadiers
- More info : Castelli
Craft
Craft is a Swedish outdoor clothing brand founded by inventor Anders Bengtsson in 1973. The product lineup covers everything from yoga to running, cycling, and winter sports. Their cycling clothing lineup covers everything a cyclist needs from head to toe for all seasons.
In recent years, Craft has been making good inroads into professional cycling. There will be two teams wearing their jerseys at this year’s Tour.
- Worn by : Team Arkea-Samsic, Team DSM
- More info : Craft
Giordana
Giordana was founded by Italian cyclist Giorgio Andretta back in 1972. It was not until 1979 that Giorgio registered the brand name Giordana with the logo resembling a Sagittarius, which represents the birth month of his daughter, Giordana.
They were a former official clothing supplier to the Tour de France, as recent as 1995, and had their jerseys worn by leading teams of their era such as ONCE, Motorola and Cofidis. There will be two teams on Giordana jersey this year.
- Worn by : Team Bike Exchange, Astana Premier Tech
- More info : Giordana
Gobik
Gobik is a Spanish clothing brand that started in 2010. According to them, Gobik means neat lines and vibrant colors to inspire very special and strong clothing that breathe your own personality.
For the first 6 years of existence, Gobik focused purely on producing custom cycling apparel before releasing their first collection in 2016. From there, they’ve made massive progress by having the race leader of the 2016 Tour of the Valencian Community wearing their yellow jersey.
In 2019, they had multiple Grand Tour winner Alberto Contador as their ambassador which elevated their level to be among the elite brands. Perhaps the biggest achievement to date is to have the defending Tour de France, Tadej Pogacar, and his UAE Team Emirates wearing their jerseys this year.
- Worn by : UAE Team Emirates
- More info : Gobik
Jinga
Jinga is an up-and-coming Israeli custom cycling brand that was started in 2011 by retired mtb pro Aviad Jezreel. They have been kitting up the Israel Start-Up Nation team up until 2020 and decided to take a step back when they gained World Tour status.
Now in 2021, they’re back to the highest echelon of pro racing and will see 4x Tour de France winner Chris Froom wearing their jerseys.
- Worn by : Israel Start-Up Nation
- More info : Jingga
Kalas
Kalas was started by businessman Čestmír Kalaš back in 1991 in a small town in the Czech Republic called Tábor. Years prior, he met Toni Maier, the founder of Assos, and manufactured Assos clothing for five years before deciding to start his own brand, Kalas.
They’re the official clothing supplier for British Cycling since 2016 and have recently extended the partnership to 2024. At this year’s Tour de France, you’ll see the likes of Matthew van der Poul and his team Alpecin-Fenix on Kalas jerseys.
- Worn by : Alpecin-Fenix
- More info : Kalas
Nalini
Nalini is an Italian clothing brand that still keeps its manufacturing facilities inside Italy. With its own in-house fabric R&D called the Moa Lab, Nalini is able to design and produce innovative fabrics that will perform in all types of conditions.
One such example is the type of treatments given on the fabrics such as Nanodry (water repellent), Mantodry (thermal insulation), and Manto W.R.T. (wet weather protection).
Being one of the leading brand names, there will be two teams wearing Nalini’s clothing at this year’s Tour.
- Worn by : Cofidis, Team TotalEnergies
- More info : Nalini
Noret
Little-known Noret is a French brand owned by the Bonengant family for more than 80 years. Started by their grandfather, Honoré Bonenfant, Noret today is managed by brothers Jean-Noël and Nicholas.
Noret has a complete range of cycling clothing from head to toe and their jerseys will be worn by French pro-continental team B&B Hotels P/B KTM.
- Worn by : B&B Hotels P/B KTM
- More info : Noret
Rapha
Rapha is perhaps one of the most well-known cycling clothing brands in the last decade. Co-founded by Simon Mottram and Luke Scheybeler back in 2004, it was acquired by RZC Investments run by Steuart and Tom Walton, who are the grandsons of Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart.
Riders will be wearing Rapha’s top-of-the-line clothing such as the Pro Team Aero jersey and Pro Team Bib Shorts 2.
- Worn by : EF Education Nippo
- More info : Rapha
Rosti
Rosti is based out of Aiton in southeastern France, near Grenoble where the final TT was held in 2011 and won by Tony Martins. They make apparel for cycling, running, triathlon, and rollerblading with an option to customize the designs.
Their jerseys will be worn by a French team, AG2R Citreon Team at this year’s Tour.
- Worn by : AG2R Citreon Team
- More info : Rosti
Santini
Italian apparel maker Santini has a long presence in cycling dating back to 1965. From 1993 to 2017, they were the official clothing supplier for the Giro d’Italia, and Vuelta Espana from 2017 until today. Triple road world champion Peter Sagan also worn Santini clothing to his first win in Richmond in 2015.
Santini will be worn by two teams this year with the partnership with Trek-Segafredo dating back to 2017.
- Worn by : Intermarché Wanty Gobert, Trek Segafredo
- More info : Santini
Sportful
Italian brand Sportful, founded back in 1973 is part of the Manifattura Valcismon group. It only entered the cycling clothing business in 1985 and had quickly found its way into the Mapei team.
In the late 1990s, the Manifattura Valcismon group acquired Castelli and today Sportful and Castelli clothing is now manufactured under the same roof although each maintains its own distinct features and design.
Triple road world champion Peter Sagan’s team will be on Sportful jerseys at this year’s Tour de France.
- Worn by : BORA hansgrohe
- More info : Sportful
Vermarc
Vermarc is a Belgian brand started by ex-pro Frans Verbeeck back in 1973. It’s no surprise to see the Belgian teams in the Tour wearing Vermarc this year.
In fact, Lotto-Soudal and Deceuninck-Quickstep have a long association with Vermarc that dates back many years and have seen the likes of former world champions Philip Gilbert, Mark Cavendish, Michal Kwiatkowski wearing Vermarc jerseys.
Expect to also see current world champion, Philip Gilbert and sprinting sensation Caleb Ewan on Vermarc jerseys at this year’s Tour.
- Worn by : Deceuninck Quick-Step, Lotto Soudal
- More info : Vermarc
