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TECH NEWS

Spirit Cycling launches Giro d'Italia-inspired jersey

Brand plans to release Tour de France and Vuelta a España versions too

Spirit Cycling have launched a new jersey that’s ‘inspired’ by the Giro d’Italia. It’s available in men’s and women’s versions in a limited edition of 50.

Like the Giro’s leader’s jersey, the Spirit Cycling jersey is pink, but rather than having La Gazzetta dello Sport emblazoned across the chest, it has Gazzetta dello Cyclismo. Along with an Italian tricolore, that’s repeated around the back.

Spirit Cycling says that it will be releasing Tour de France and Vuelta a España (Tour of Spain) jerseys before the start of each of those races too.

The Giro jersey is made in Britain and is priced at £54.50. The women’s version is made to order in a fortnight. If you’re interested in either version, head over to Spirit Cycling’s website

The Giro d’Italia starts on Saturday, 9 May with a 17.6km team time trial from San Lorenzo Al Mare to Sanremo.

Mat has been in cycling media since 1996, on titles including BikeRadar, Total Bike, Total Mountain Bike, What Mountain Bike and Mountain Biking UK, and he has been editor of 220 Triathlon and Cycling Plus. Mat has been road.cc technical editor for over a decade, testing bikes, fettling the latest kit, and trying out the most up-to-the-minute clothing. He has won his category in Ironman UK 70.3 and finished on the podium in both marathons he has run. Mat is a Cambridge graduate who did a post-grad in magazine journalism, and he is a winner of the Cycling Media Award for Specialist Online Writer. Now over 50, he's riding road and gravel bikes most days for fun and fitness rather than training for competitions.

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11 comments

Avatar
brackley88 | 9 years ago
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ps. Giro, the helmet and shoe company....what shocking copycats they are!!! Outrageous....taking the name of a famous race....  21

Avatar
Simon_MacMichael | 9 years ago
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"Cyclismo" rather than "Ciclismo" ...?!

Gesù pianse.

The shade of pink in the maglia rosa does vary over the years but if anything this reminds me more of the maglia ciclamino used for the points competition from 1969-2009.

Now there's homage, and there's homage ... worth noting Rapha's original Italy country jersey, pink with the tricolore band round the chest, avoided use of the word 'Giro,' even though any cycling fan would make the association.

I suspect there was a very good reason for that  3

Avatar
crikey | 9 years ago
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You're applauding a cycle clothing company for making a cycling jersey?

Do you clap outside the bakers when you see the bread?  21

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Pointbroken replied to crikey | 9 years ago
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crikey wrote:

You're applauding a cycle clothing company for making a cycling jersey?

Do you clap outside the bakers when you see the bread?  21

If my local baker baked topical Grand Tour inspired loafs and pastries then not only might i put on a few pounds, I would certainly clap my hands and possibly throw in a Chapeau too!

Avatar
Pointbroken | 9 years ago
0 likes

I applaud spirit for giving it a go.

Seems like a perfectly reasonable release. Most jersey manufacturer will have topical jersey releases at various times of the year.

There custom jersey service is excellent too.

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bobbinogs | 9 years ago
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Yepp, the Santini jerseys just ooze class, these ones look garish.

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ojbutterwick | 9 years ago
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Cynical, perhaps, but looks like a company lacking ideas and keen to profit out of cycling fans. Give me Santini Giro jerseys any day.

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brackley88 replied to ojbutterwick | 9 years ago
0 likes
ojbutterwick wrote:

Cynical, perhaps, but looks like a company lacking ideas and keen to profit out of cycling fans. Give me Santini Giro jerseys any day.

...in Breaking News: Company Seeks to Make Profits from its Target Market

...and later, we will hear about the farmer looking to sell milk from his cows for money, and the airline pilot looking to take off and land safely in return for cash payments (salary)

 24

Avatar
stenmeister replied to brackley88 | 9 years ago
0 likes
brackley88 wrote:
ojbutterwick wrote:

Cynical, perhaps, but looks like a company lacking ideas and keen to profit out of cycling fans. Give me Santini Giro jerseys any day.

...in Breaking News: Company Seeks to Make Profits from its Target Market

...and later, we will hear about the farmer looking to sell milk from his cows for money, and the airline pilot looking to take off and land safely in return for cash payments (salary)

 24

There's plenty of companies seeking to make profit from their target market but there's a difference between those who offer something unique like Castelli or who you might associate with the Giro i.e Santini and simple market exploitation or band wagon jumping which is what this is.

Avatar
ojbutterwick replied to stenmeister | 9 years ago
0 likes
stenmeister wrote:
brackley88 wrote:
ojbutterwick wrote:

Cynical, perhaps, but looks like a company lacking ideas and keen to profit out of cycling fans. Give me Santini Giro jerseys any day.

...in Breaking News: Company Seeks to Make Profits from its Target Market

...and later, we will hear about the farmer looking to sell milk from his cows for money, and the airline pilot looking to take off and land safely in return for cash payments (salary)

 24

There's plenty of companies seeking to make profit from their target market but there's a difference between those who offer something unique like Castelli or who you might associate with the Giro i.e Santini and simple market exploitation or band wagon jumping which is what this is.

Well said. Seems @brackley88 really likes it, though.

Avatar
brackley88 replied to ojbutterwick | 9 years ago
0 likes
ojbutterwick wrote:
stenmeister wrote:
brackley88 wrote:
ojbutterwick wrote:

Cynical, perhaps, but looks like a company lacking ideas and keen to profit out of cycling fans. Give me Santini Giro jerseys any day.

...in Breaking News: Company Seeks to Make Profits from its Target Market

...and later, we will hear about the farmer looking to sell milk from his cows for money, and the airline pilot looking to take off and land safely in return for cash payments (salary)

 24

There's plenty of companies seeking to make profit from their target market but there's a difference between those who offer something unique like Castelli or who you might associate with the Giro i.e Santini and simple market exploitation or band wagon jumping which is what this is.

Well said. Seems @brackley88 really likes it, though.

Companies other than Santini and Castelli who make Giro inspired Jerseys include:

Morvelo
Telegraph Road
Raphia
De Marchi
Capo
Campagnolo
Twin Six
etc., etc.,

In all industries there are the innovators and the followers...and as we can see from the list above sometimes companies are the innovator; sometimes the follower. Twas always thus and thus will always be. I would not want the innovators to either rest on their laurels or be able to have excessive price control through a monopoly forced by a lack of competition. The interesting question for the innovators is the extent to which they can produce products sooner and better, and build a brand around that, that enables them to capture disproportionate share from the market. I do personally tend to try and reward the innovators where I can, but just look at how many people are delighted to have companies competing on price and quality where Rapha has led. I have to believe that this is a good thing.

That said, it amuses me no end that anyone could be bothered that a cycle jersey company chose to produce a pink jersey to try and make money, when there are similar Giro inspired products in nearly every product range (including bar tape, helmets, gloves etc etc)...and its a tiny company that probably barely makes enough money for the founders to have a decent holiday.

Isn't life interesting, aren't people different. Love it.

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