Never doubt that EF Education Easypost boss Jonathan Vaughters is a brilliant race tactician.
On the eve of the fast approaching Giro d’Italia, the team decided to create an entirely new kit to confuse rivals and create chaos in the peloton.
While the team will rightfully claim it had to switch its usual all-pink to avoid looking like the entire squad was in the pink jersey of Giro race leader, make no mistake, that’s just convenient cover for a visual subterfuge.
As noted in Rouleur, the design “features a panel of pink as well as yellow, white, black, blue and green all patch-worked together.” The stated rational is that they’re using left-over, excess material in an effort to be more sustainable, but really, they ain’t fooling Twisted Spoke.
The real goal is to sow uncertainty in the peloton and take advantage of said uncertainty to advance their Giro contender Hugh Carthy. Because who is that rider on that team I’m riding beside right now? Half the jersey front looks very similar in color and design to Jumbo Visma. Is that Carthy or it is Jonas Vingegaard who just attacked? Did someone just sneak in and disrupt our train? Who just wen up the road, was the Jonas or Hugh?
This is camouflage and misdirection at a World Tour level in a grand tour. That patchwork kit made up of multiple color panels could represent any squad and any rider — is that Jumbo, is that Bora, some French team? In the heat of battle, the fog of war, this level of confusion may very well boost the chances of EF Education. It could be the margin of victory, lycra as stun gun.
We’ve heard of aero kits designed to shave precious seconds in a time trial, but this is a first. It’s a visual marginal gain, a Rapha kit to inspire confusion, a mess-with-their-minds fashion statement. We say chapeau Mr Vaughters. You’ve developed a killer kit to disorient and befuddle.
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