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Get to know the 7 new jerseys at the Tour de France 2025
As the Tour de France gears up for its Grand Départ in Lille, we’ve been hit with a flurry of kit reveals. Seven teams will be sporting a new look at the 2025 Tour de France, which starts on Saturday 5th July.
The UCI used to be firmly against jersey switch-ups, but after some rule loosening, the tradition began in the mid-2010s as a fun novelty for a select few teams. Now, the habit has spread across the peloton to the point where this year roughly a third of the competing teams will be wearing one-off kits for the Tour.
Designing a special jersey is usually based around three considerations. One: avoid the usage of the Tour’s signature yellow. Two: create a lighter (often white) jersey for the heat. Three: unveil or showcase team sponsors. That last point can be responsible for some of the biggest changes, with sponsors often signing up specifically for the biggest race of the year.
Ineos Grenadiers (p/b TotalEnergies)
After a sneaky deal had been struck between Ineos Grenadiers and petrochemical giant TotalEnergies – a company that contributes 1% of global CO2 emissions per year – the French company’s logo will appear across Ineos’ jersey and team cars at this year’s Tour de France, teasing us for the complete merger between the two come January.
I don’t say this lightly, but this is a heinous crime against fashion, an absolute monstrosity on the eyes. There is absolutely no harmony between the Total logo’s placement and the rest of the existing kit. It’s just been plopped across the chest, with some attempt at a jagged 2000s fade effect between the orange of the jersey and the white of Total’s branding.
I now know why Sam Watson was so motivated to win the British national championships. He must have seen the design of this kit.
The only redeemable comment I can possibly make is that the white band now matches the inexplicable white stripe that was placed down the back of the original Ineos jersey at the beginning of the season. However, I’m really clutching at straws here.
Cyclist rating: 1/10 (Someone fetch the eye wash)
Red Bull Bora-Hansgrohe
This time last year, Red Bull entered the peloton alongside long-running German team Bora-Hansgrohe. This year, they’re jumping on the bandwagon and have released a one-off kit for the Tour de France.
The jersey is said to be an homage to the French national football team’s shirts of old. I can’t see that, but it’s nonetheless interesting. It’s very 90s, with its school disco-like pattern and matching royal blue shorts. Some online have likened it to Castorama, but most have spotted the uncanny resemblance to TotalEnergies. Rightly so. With the blue shorts, the two really do clash.
On a branding front, this jersey doesn’t scream Red Bull. That’s no problem for me – this throwback kit is a nice change of pace for the German team.
Cyclist rating: 7/10 (I’m glad it’s not AI-generated at least)
Groupama-FDJ
For the first time in their history, Groupama-FDJ have finally caved in and released a limited edition kit for the Tour.
Their traditional navy blue has been toned down to a softer hue that’s balanced out by a single red sleeve. It’s looking very FDJ-Suez, very Ceratizit, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. If anything, this is one of the more tasteful Tour de France switch-ups this year.
On close inspection, the body of the jersey holds a mosaic of small patterned blocks. It’s said that this makes several nods to the regions passed on this year’s route. I can’t quite see it, but I can look past that because this looks wonderful. Although it’s been pushed into the background here, there is a change in branding at FDJ. It’s now called FDJ United – which sounds like a Sunday league football team to me – and the logo has changed from a four-leaf clover to a diamond.
Cyclist rating: 9/10 (Gourmet)
Visma-Lease a Bike
No surprises here, Visma-Lease as Bike have switched up their jersey at the Tour each year since 2021. Some of the special jerseys have been brilliant, like last year’s renaissance-themed number, some, on the other hand, have split opinion. Remember the vomit-coloured shirt from 2022? To flatten more of the surprise, the Dutch team unveiled this year’s special jersey months ago, allowing for pre-orders on their online store.
Design-wise, this year they’ve gone simple, with a black and yellow combination. Like in 2021, fans’ names are wrapped across the jersey in the yellow brushstrokes that characterise the main body of the jersey. These flashes of yellow are complemented by the red of Visma’s logo, giving it quite a neat look.
Although the jersey looks quite bland on first look, there’s an unavoidable pair of Rabobank logos towards each hip. The Dutch bank’s return to cycling after a 12-year absence has been a big deal for the team. It was, however, an odd choice to have Vingegaard promote this one, given that the last Dane to wear a Rabobank jersey was the disgraced Michael Rasmussen.
Cyclist rating: 6/10 (I’m glad it’s not AI-generated at least)
TotalEnergies
If having its brand name plastered across one team’s jersey wasn’t enough, the actual Team TotalEnergies team have also zhuzhed up their look ahead of the Tour de France.
After his star appearance in season 3 of Tour de France: Unchained, team boss Jean-René Bernaudeau revealed the kit at Total’s amnoir in western France. At first glance, it looks very similar. There are no major changes in the team’s visual identity. All that’s been added is a checkered band around the chest. According to a press release, the checkerboard pattern is a direct reference to Brenaudeau’s former Peugeot team jersey from the 1980s.
There’s not too much to report here. The jersey largely looks the same, especially from afar. Regardless of the changes, it’s still likely to get mixed up with Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe’s striking new look.
Cyclist rating: 7/10 (They better savour the air time)
Israel-Premier Tech
This jersey falls has emerged to showcase bike sponsor Factor. Apparently, the jersey ’embodies Factor’s’ Never Status Quo mantra’ in a ‘striking and eye-catching design’. That, it certainly is.
With dashes of fuchsia, the pink stands out. To EF Education-EasyPost’s joy, the pink is not overdone as it’s neatly contrasted by a navy gradient. From my perspective, it’s a unique look and helps the boys stand out from the barrage of riders in navy at this year’s Tour de France.
My one issue is the inconsistency throughout the jersey. One part it’s blocky, the other glitchy. If it were all a vibrant block-based pattern, I reckon this would look better. Would it stand out less? I’m not sure.
Cyclist rating: 6/10 (Looks like something you’d get on discount at Cyberdog in Camden)
UAE Team Emirates XRG
Not even the reigning champion’s squad are safe from a jersey switch-up. No, UAE Team Emirates XRG will be swapping out their regular number for one that’s a little lighter, without the presence of any black sleeves.
The spiel with this one is that it’s ‘inspired by the heart chakra and the strength of nature with the lightness of the alpine air, first worn high above Sierra Nevada, where the air is thin and the mind is clear, focused’. Lord knows what that means.
I don’t quite understand how that inspiration was translated into the final product, because it certainly doesn’t require a chakra to be opened.
The jersey has a slight unwashed look to it. Some have said it looks like an oil spill, but it looks a little smudged to me — almost as if you’ve rubbed your grubby hands on a pristine white jersey. It’s hardly reinventing the wheel, but it looks fine enough.
Cyclist rating: 5/10 (This reminds me of my heart chakra)
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