Culture

Our Rapha and Palace Tour de France kit

Our latest collaboration jersey celebrates the Tour de France Femmes

June 28, 2022

For us, July means one thing: the Tour de France. But what is the world’s greatest bike race with just a race for men? For the first time since the 1980s, men and women will be on the startlines — and it’s about damn time.

The Tour is the zenith of competition at the height of the European summer. It’s make or break for riders and teams, a celebration for fans and an odyssey for the riders taking on sweltering, hour-long ascents and serpentine downhills at 100 kilometers an hour… all with a thin pair of shorts for protection.

Over 29 days this summer, men and women will strive and struggle in the world’s toughest sporting event and we hope you join us for the ride on the roads, on social media, and on TV. Vive le Tour, and at long last, Vive les Femmes.

To celebrate the majesty of the Tour de Force, we have once again partnered with Rapha and Palace Skateboards to create a striking limited-edition switch-out kit for the riders of the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB and EF Education-EasyPost teams.

"It's been a very long road to get to this point, and all of us, the riders, staff and management, realize the significance of this jersey and will be proud to wear it.”

- Linda Jackson, the founder and owner of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB

This collaboration doesn’t end with our racing kit. Our entire fleet of Cannondale race bikes, including the Cannondale SuperSix EVO which will be available for purchase, will have a crisp new look to match our kits, as well as POC helmets and Crocs, decked out with distinct designs imagined by Palace. WHOOP and Wahoo have joined in as well, creating their own designs inspired by the kit.

We’ve been buzzing with excitement about this collaboration with Palace and Rapha. Like us, both race with character and have never been afraid to break from cycling’s dusty traditions. Rapha and its designs regularly refer back to the sport and cycling history while Palace is disruptive, witty and always surprising, authentically straddling the worlds of high fashion, streetwear and core skate. Upon these daring shoulders, the kits are set to turn heads across the world and push the boundaries of the sport.

“I'm just thrilled with the kit that Rapha and Palace Skateboards have designed to celebrate the return of the women's Tour de France. Women's cycling has been growing steadily over the past couple of decades, but the return of the Tour de France will accelerate this growth and further our search for equality,” said Linda Jackson, the founder and owner of EF Education-TIBCO-SVB. “It's a true honor to have the EF Education-EasyPost men's team racing their Tour de France in a jersey that celebrates women's cycling. It's been a very long road to get to this point, and all of us, the riders, staff and management, realize the significance of this jersey and will be proud to wear it.”

The design narrative of the second Rapha and Palace collaboration righteously celebrates the Tour de France Femmes. After 33 years, women are finally able to return to race and we are ready to show the world what it's been missing.

“The changeout is our way of celebrating women in sport and the Tour de France Femmes. It’s wild, it’s bold, and it’s an exciting time for the cycling world and long overdue. It’s an honor for our team to race in this kit in advance of the women’s Tour de France. Both races will be incredible, and we’ll fight to keep this kit and its celebratory message at the front of the race this July,” said Jonathan Vaughters, the CEO of the EF Education-EasyPost team.

The first collaboration with Rapha and Palace at the men’s 2020 Giro d’Italia did not fall short of expectations and the kit was something altogether different, merging the worlds of fashion and cycling and changing the sport once and for all. We are proud to carry on this tradition of defying expectations and challenging norms, all while cloaked in the most original kit in the peloton.

The change out extends to the full range of team bikes from Cannondale to celebrate the return of women to Le Tour. Every element of the frame design of the SystemSix, SuperSix EVO and SuperSlice is bold and intentional to seamlessly combine with the Rapha + Palace team kit that both our men’s and women’s teams will don at the Tour. Unique touches extend beyond the obvious elements of the design; each SuperSlice incorporates easter eggs for each rider to match their personality and riding style.

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