While social media sleuths among us may have already spotted a cheeky leaked image of the striking new EF Education-EasyPost kit a few weeks ago, Rapha has today finally (officially) released the hotly-anticipated 2023 jersey to the masses. The EF Education-Tibco-SVB women’s kit has also been unveiled, and both outfits are sure to turn heads in the peloton. While many of the other WorldTour teams have opted for various shades of blue and orange for 2023, the EF kit hasn’t followed suit and does, as we’ve come to expect, stand out from the crowd.
Both the men’s and women’s EF Education WorldTour squads are known for having arguably one of the most stylish kits in the peloton year on year. Rapha’s designers are never afraid to shy away from a wacky design or pop of colour – the team’s duck-themed collaboration with London-based skateboarding and clothing brand Palace at the 2020 Giro d'Italia was proof of that – and they’ve stuck to their guns for 2023, with both EF men’s and women’s teams sporting an eye-catching shade of pink.
Image: Gruber
However, it’s fair to say that the jersey doesn’t quite have as much detailing on it as last year’s kit, and is actually a more stripped-back look compared to years previous. Pink has been the dominant colour in EF Education kit since 2018 and Rapha has stuck to this for 2023. However, last year’s kit featured Rapha's Argyle pattern on top of a rose base colour. At the time, Rapha said this design had been developed through creative coding and image/pattern simulation with a subtle colour variation for the men's and women's teams.
Some fans didn’t give rave reviews to this addition to last year’s kit, preferring 2021’s plain pink version. Looking at the 2023 release, it seems Rapha has reached a sort of compromise between both the lovers of a simpler design and those who are partial to a bit of patterning. The jersey is composed of different pink colour blocks, which Rapha says represents the past, present and future of the teams. The eye-catching jersey is paired with plain black shorts and white logos and, for the first time, the men’s and women’s kits have exactly the same design, differentiated only by sponsors.
(Image: Chris Milliman @millimans)
From photos, it looks like the Olympic champion Richard Carapaz has been given some special treatment on his kit, with the sponsor writing printed in a stunning metallic gold colour on his bib shorts. The iconic Rapha logo on the right shoulder of his jersey is also printed in gold, rather than white as seen on the kit of his teammates. Carapaz joins EF Education-EasyPost for 2023 after three years with the Ineos Grenadiers, and next season marks a fresh chapter for both him and his new team.
Rapha explains that the design of the 2023 team kit goes beyond just aesthetics, and represents a new ethos for both teams: “performance with character, as the teams set out to disrupt the pro peloton for another year with their unconventional racing calendar. Alongside grand tours, cycling fans have become used to seeing EF Education Easypost and EF Education-Tibco-SVB riders compete in continental epics and across a wide variety of cycling disciplines, with a simple aim – to shake up the sport and inspire the world to live by bike.”
Time will only tell if the EF Education Easypost and EF Education-Tibco-SVB riders will shake up the sport and perform at the highest level in 2023, but their 2023 kit certainly shakes up the colour palettes of the WorldTour pelotons. The different shades of pink come together to create a beautifully modern design that has put itself firmly in contention for one of our favourite kits so far of the 2023 crop.
