EF Education-EasyPost and EF Education-Tibco-SVB to race on repurposed and unique custom-painted SuperSix Evo frames
(Image credit: Tim Wilkey / Jared Gruber / Ashley Gruber)
The cycling world has almost somewhat become accustomed to seeing a new, eye-catching and slightly garish EF team kit rolled out for a grand tour over the last few seasons. Originally it was down to the fact the team kit clashed with the maglia rosa leader's jersey at the Giro d'Italia and an alternative was needed.
Like the original Palace collaboration, last year's Palace collaboration caused yet another stir and most of us have been waiting to see what Rapha and Cannondale would have in store this year. The teams are set to roll out a newly designed patchwork kit that features 72% recycled materials in a nod to sustainability and the team's greener future initiatives.
As the Italian grand tour's start looms, Cannondale also has an announcement to make regarding the team's bikes for the race, and it's a pretty exciting one.
A spectacular use of leftover paint, I think we can all agree (Image credit: Tim Wilkey / Jared Gruber / Ashley Gruber)
Teams are often provided with brand-new equipment for big races, but for this year's Giro d'Italia, no new team bikes have been produced for EF Education-EasyPost or EF Education-Tibco-SVB. The teams will instead race on repainted LAB71 Supersix Evo frames that have been coloured using excess paint. We understand each frame is hand painted and no two riders' bikes will be the same.
The frames are all finished in bright and eye-catching colours in almost a tie-dye style, and it looks like some paint has been removed or layered in areas to give the look of a worn frame that shows old layers of paint underneath.
The painters, Doktor Bobby with help from Tim Wilkey, must have had to watch the amount of paint they used to avoid ending up with heavy frames.
A masked-up frame is being given the custom treatment, no two frames will be the same we are told. (Image credit: Tim Wikey)
Unfortunately, and we feel a lot of Cannondale fans may be disappointed with this news, the frames are team-only and will not be available for sale or purchase. So if you fall in love with a particular paint job you're going to need to get your masking tape and rattle can out.
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(Image credit: Tim Wilkey / Jared Gruber / Ashley Gruber)
Tom joined the Cyclingnews team in late 2022 as a tech writer. Despite having a degree in English Literature he has spent his entire working life in the cycling industry in one form or another. He has over 10 years of experience as a qualified mechanic, with the last five years before joining Cyclingnews being spent running an independent workshop. This means he is just as happy tinkering away in the garage as he is out on the road bike, and he isn’t afraid to pull a bike apart or get hands-on with it when testing to really see what it’s made of.
He has ridden and raced bikes from an early age up to a national level on the road and track, and has ridden and competed in most disciplines. He has a keen eye for pro-team tech and enjoys spotting new or interesting components in the wild. During his time at Cyclingnews, Tom has already interviewed some of the sport's biggest names including Mathieu van der Poel, Tadej Pogačar and Alberto Contador. He's also covered various launches from brands such as Pinarello, Ridley, Specialized and more, tackled the Roubaix Challenge sportive aboard his own rim-brake Cannondale SuperSix Evo, tested over 20 aero helmets in the wind tunnel, and has created helpful in-depth buying advice relating to countless categories from torque wrenches to winter clothing.
