The cat is out of the bag tonight on one of professional cycling’s worst kept secrets ahead of the 2017 season – Italian brand Castelli will be replacing Rapha as Team Sky’s kit supplier for 2017.

In contrast to when Rapha replaced Adidas ahead of the 2013 season, with no pictures released of the new kit until 1 January, Team Sky and Castelli have gone public immediately with the new look.

Tour de France champion Chris Froome, former world champion Michal Kwiatkowski and Olympic omnium champion Elia Viviani are all shown modelling the kit in the gallery above.

Team Sky principal Sir Dave Brailsford said: “We’re really excited to be able to announce this partnership between Team Sky and Castelli.

 “Castelli will be more than a kit supplier, they will be an innovation partner. Castelli has a long history of breaking new ground when it comes to kit and design.

“We will continue to push hard to make sure our riders have the best clothing and equipment, and we’re already excited about some of the ideas Castelli are working on with us.”

Sky and Castelli say that each of the distinctive stripes on the jersey as well as the bibshorts, mitts and cap reflect one of the victories it has achieved since it began racing in 2010 – the longest ones are for the four Tour de France wins.

“We spent a lot of time thinking about our new kit and what we wanted it to represent visually,” Brailsford continued.

“We wanted to find a way of celebrating the success we have had as a team, but also to make sure we keep our mind firmly on the future.

“As a team we still have an enormous amount of goals we want to achieve and, through the design of our new kit, those will always be at the forefront of our thinking.

“We’ve maintained the design elements which our kits have become well known for, such as the blue line, but produced something ambitious and unique to Team Sky.

“We’re delighted with the results and we hope our fans will love it as much as the riders do.”

Castelli race performance director, Andrea Peron, said: “Castelli and Team Sky share the same drive for results-driven innovation in everything we do. Team Sky has a structure and the resources to help us continuously give our athletes a performance advantage.

“Whether it’s aerodynamics, foul weather protection or solutions that let the riders train more comfortably, we’re looking at every opportunity for an advantage.”