INEOS presents its new kit for 2023, can the UCI oppose it?

The controversy over the resemblance of the new INEOS Grenadiers kit to the one worn by Bahrain Victorious has soon spread. New colours with which the British squad completely breaks with the traditional sober line that has characterised its clothing designs since the early days of Team Sky.

INEOS Grenadiers opts for red in 2023

During these weeks, the different teams of the professional cycling scene are presenting their new colours for the 2023 season, starting in Australia in just one month. These days we have known how will be the new kits of teams like UAE Team Emirates, continuist with the current one except for the change of supplier, which becomes the Italian Pissei; Trek-Segafredo, with sober lines where the white colour of the front is combined with red on sleeves, back and logos; Groupama-FDJ, with navy blue as the dominant tone; or Patrick Lefevere's team, which is renamed Soudal-QuickStep, including the red of the logo of the lubricants firm.

The new Bahrain Victorious kit was also unveiled a few days ago, as well as others, quite similar to the one for the 2022 season. Therefore, yesterday's launch of the new colours of INEOS Grenadiers surprised everyone, breaking with the classic style that has reigned until now in their kits to switch to red with orange details and a diamond pattern on one of the sleeves whose resemblance to the design of Bahrain Victorious is undeniable.

According to the British team's statement, the colour change to red reflects the team's plan for 2023 to ride with passion, firmness and determination, while the detailing is a shade of safety orange used by the INEOS Brittania America's Cup sailing team to improve rider visibility on the road, in a move to raise awareness about cyclist safety.

Bioracer, the team's supplier since last season, has used its best technologies, such as a denser lycra with greater water-repellent properties in its winter garments, which allows it to maintain a high level of protection without resorting to membranes, which after all, always limit breathability; or with a new jacket for rainy days in which it has worked precisely on maximising the breathability of its membrane.

What does the UCI say about it?

It is strange that two such similar kits are going to coexist in the peloton, which will be difficult to distinguish from the aerial television images, although it is not the first time that we have seen different teams wearing similar colours.

The UCI, as the maximum regulator of cycling, does not state anything in its regulations regarding the designs of the equipment beyond the fact that everyone has to send them before December 1st for approval, so, being submitted on these dates, it must be assumed that all the formalities have been fulfilled and the new INEOS Grenadiers equipment has been accepted by the international federation.

The rule also states that teams may change their kit at a specific event during the year, subject to prior notification and approval by the UCI. This is something we often see with teams sporting a different kit during the Tour de France or the eye-catching jerseys designed by skateboarding firm Palace, which EF Education-EasyPost has shown us at the last two Giros d'Italia.

However, there are precedents for the UCI vetoing team designs. In a controversial decision, it rejected two designs of the Bizkaia Durango women's team for similarity with the colour of the UCI Women's World Tour leader's jersey, notifying it when the kits were only a few days before the start of the season, while a few weeks earlier it had given the green light to the designs of the SDWorx, Human Powered Health and UAE Team Emirates women's teams, which were practically identical at first glance.

This is precisely what the UCI is quite scrupulous about, with detailed regulations for the World Champion's jerseys, continental jerseys and the leader's jersey of the women's World Tour, i.e. that no team jersey should interfere with the designs of its own jerseys. However, it does not usually get involved in whether the teams' jerseys are similar to each other, even though, as has happened in recent years, this works against television broadcasting and sometimes makes it extremely difficult to follow the progress of the races.