I'll be honest – leopard print isn't something I'd normally associate with a serious road shoe. In fact, the only animal-print riding kit I've ever considered wearing was the Acqua & Sapone team kit from the early 2000s made famous by a certain Mario Cipollini. But then, MAAP and Quoc aren't normal brands, and the M3 Pro Leopard isn't a normal collaboration.
This is the third time the Melbourne apparel brand and London-based shoe maker have worked together, and if the first two releases – a Gran Tourer XC gravel shoe and an earlier M3 Pro colourway – were the start of a partnership with genuine creative momentum, the latest Leopard design confirms it. It is bold, limited edition, and is quite striking.
MAAP needs little introduction to anyone paying attention to where cycling kit has gone in the past decade. Founded in Melbourne in 2014 with a brief to push the aesthetics of cycling forward. Bold patterns, technically advanced fabrics and a design language borrowed from the art world as much as the sporting arena have helped make the Australian brand one of the most recognisable names in premium cycling apparel. There are plenty of brands that produce technically excellent kit, but there are far fewer that have produced a visual identity as immediately distinctive as MAAP's, and fewer still that have managed to do both simultaneously without either aspect suffering.
Quoc's story is different in character but equally considered. Founded in London in 2009 by Vietnamese-British designer Quoc Pham, the brand has spent over 15 years doing something that the cycling shoe market largely didn't bother with before they arrived: thinking seriously about how a cycling shoe should actually fit, and then building one accordingly. A decade spent hand-crafting their last, the internal shape around which every shoe is constructed, has produced a fit that riders consistently describe as closer to personalised than anything else in the category. The M3 Pro, Quoc's flagship road racing shoe, is the ultimate expression of that work: a full unidirectional carbon outsole, a comfortable tongueless wraparound construction, a dual-dial micro-adjustment system, and a claimed weight of just 242 grams, making it a serious high-end race shoe contender.
The most successful collaborations don't just put one brand's logo on another brand's product. They find their own place where the two distinct identities overlap, creating something neither would have arrived at on their own.
Of the three collaborations, this is easily the most visually arresting. MAAP has taken the M3 Pro's race architecture and wrapped it in a grey leopard print upper, a nod to biological efficiency and instinctive speed, which the brand frames as Faster by Nature, alongside a new contrasting lining and toe guard. Leopard print on a road shoe is not the most subtle design choice, and I think that's exactly the point. Both brands have built their reputations on doing things their own way rather than following the category consensus, and this shoe continues that trend. It makes a statement without feeling the need to justify it, which, if you know either brand, is a good fit.
The technical details are unchanged from the standard M3 Pro shoe. The race-grade unidirectional carbon outsole delivers the stiffness that serious road riding demands, paired with a vibration-damping insole featuring pressure-point relief, a combination that adds surprising comfort to a stiff platform. QUOC's wraparound construction eliminates the traditional tongue entirely, with a dual-dial system that works in a similar, though not exactly the same, way as a Boa dial, but in a lower-profile format, allowing easy micro-adjustments on the fly.
What makes the MAAP x Quoc partnership interesting beyond the individual product is what it says about where both brands sit in the market. MAAP has built its reputation on apparel, specifically on the idea that cyclists don't have to choose between looking serious and looking good, and the extension of that philosophy into footwear, through a brand that shares the same design-led, technically credible sensibility, is a natural progression. QUOC, meanwhile, has spent years building a following among riders who care about the details of fit and construction in ways the major shoe brands haven't always catered to.
The M3 Pro Leopard is available now in strictly limited quantities, priced at £340 / €395 / $450, through maap.cc, Quoc.cc, MAAP LaB retail stores, and selected stockists worldwide. Given the track record of their previous collaborations selling out quickly, the window to get hold of a pair is likely to be short. Full sizes from EU 36 to 47 are available while stock lasts.
MAAP X Quoc M3 Pro Leopard
- Price: £340 / €395 / $450
- Weight: 242g
- Outsole: Unidirectional carbon fibre, race-grade
- Closure: Dual-dial micro-adjustment, wraparound tongue-less construction
- Upper: Leopard print with contrasting lining and toe guard
- Insole: Vibration-dampening with pressure point relief
- Sizes: EU 36–47
- Availability: maap.cc / quoc.cc / MAAP LaB stores / selected retailers
- maap.cc | Quoc.cc
