Geraint Thomas has admitted that it will take him some time to get used to wearing SunGod sunglasses after years in his beloved white Oakley Racing Jackets, but the Welshman and his Ineos Grenadiers teammates have shown off their new eyewear as part of the team’s new look for the 2023 season.
Thomas had remained loyal to the Racing Jacket model despite Oakley introducing other models over the years, even making pleas on social media to find his sunglasses after crashes and mishaps at races. However, he took centre stage in the video revealing the Ineos Grenadier riders in SunGod glasses.
Ineos Grenadiers opted to end a 12-year relationship with Oakley and all the riders in the team will wear SunGod sunglasses in 2023. Tour de France rivals Jumbo-Visma will now wear Oakley sunglasses in 2023, the American brand replacing Agu as part of a number of technical sponsor changes.
The Ineos Grenadiers riders showed off their new 2023 orange and red racing kit and bikes and SunGod glasses in a video and images shot at their recent training camp in Mallorca. Thomas is expected to make his racing debut at the Tour Down Under in Australia on January 14.
The SunGod partnership with Ineos Grenadiers was described as 'long term', though no specific contract length is stated.
SunGod was founded following a Kickstarter round of funding in 2013, and has moved into the cycling glasses scene from snowsports, thanks to a steady stream of new launches and a full customisation process built into the purchase.
The company previously sponsored British Continental teams Wiv-SunGod, Ribble-Weldtite and Bianchi-Dama, offering each of the teams' riders the option to create their own customised style.
The Ineos Grenadiers wore black glasses at their training camp to match their blue, red and orange racing colours.
Thomas was seen wearing SunGod’s Velans full-frame model, along with Tom Pidcock, Ethan Hayter and Michał Kwiatkowski, while Filippo Ganna opted for the full-frame Airas model and Danny Martinez showed off the top-frame Vulcans, all apparently with Sun God’s '8KO' polarised finish.
