People laughed at the flesh colored closet organizer boys before the Tour de France.
They didn’t belong, their kit was atrociously ugly, their sponsor name was a hoot. But let’s give the men in tan skin tones with the giant footprint on their chest a round of applause.
If you look at the team competition, Footon-Servetto finished 20th, ahead of the more well known and experienced Lampre squad and also the Milram team — Milram being the German word for invisible.
In stage 7 to Station Des Rousses, Rafael Valls Ferri took an impressive second place. A week later it was teammate Aitor Perez Arrieta crossing the finish line in Bagnères-de-Luchon in third.
These guys got their giant black feet in the door of the Tour de France. They were not Footon fodder and they came far closer to a stage win than Cofidis.
Twisted Spoke overlooked their TDF grade but it’s time to set things right. Grade: B-
Ooops! Sorry, wrong picture. This should make more sense:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/97th-tour-de-fra…
I thought the Footon kit rocked! Am I the only one? Their colors were unique, they were easy to spot in a group (isn’t the point?) and there were far worse options in the peloton: Sky, Ag2R…anybody?
Plus, one of the very first images shown on the Versus broadcast of the Tour was of poor Manuel Cardoso crossing the prologue finish line–bloodied from head-to-toe from a horrific crash–looking like he’d been attacked by a pack of wolves. Hey, camera time is what a sponsor is looking for, no? That alone should earn them a pass in the fashion department!
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/97th-tour-de-france-gt/prologue/photos/128798