To the Google searcher who arrived here looking for "Vinokourov+color+T-Mobile"...
I'm guessing you are wondering why T-Mobile rider Alexander Vinokourov isn't wearing the same pink magenta uniform as the rest of the team. Why does he get to look so much tougher in pale aquamarine and yellow?
(I shouldn't kid about that. Vino would look tough in anything. You could put him in a Paola Pezzo outfit and he'd still look like he could kick ass.)
The answer is that Vinokourov is the current national cycling champion of Kazakhstan, and national champions wear their national jersey for the season. (Unless he also wins the world championship...the rainbow jersey trumps a national jersey.)
Other national champions in this year's Tour include Gerrit Glomser (Austria--although he abandoned in stage 10), Robbie McEwen (Australia), Jaan Kirsipuu (Estonia--abandoned in stage 9), Pierrick Fedrigo (France), Leon van Bon (Netherlands--abandoned in stage 8), and Juan Manuel Garate (Spain). The current world champion, Oscar Freire of Rabobank, isn't in France (he had surgey in June).
Just to keep things colorful, road race championships and time trial championships aren't interchangable, jersey-wise...that's why Michael Rogers wore the ranbow jersey (well, it was more like a skinsuit) in the stage 1 time trial, but in the other stages he's in a regular Quickstep jersey.
Past winners can commemorate their accomplishments with stripes on their team jersey collar or cuffs...if you get a close look at Freddie Rodriguez, for example, there's a red, white, and blue stars and strips design around the hem of his sleeve. His Lotto teammate Axel Merckx has the Belgian black, gold and red strips on his, and Stuart O'Grady wears green and gold from his Australian championship. (This is what I do during the middle of flat stages...watch for Didi the devil, and play spot-the-stripes.)
Posted by Nic at July 15, 2005 01:07 PM | TrackBack