New Scicon eyewear with a wing-like aesthetic and slotted edges
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Tadej Pogačar is wearing some radical looking Scicon shades at this year's Tour de France(Image credit: Getty Images)
With their extended lenses that separate with a rounded cut-out, and slotted 'feathers', they give off strong avian vibes(Image credit: Getty Images)
The feathers are accompanied by a circular cut-out, around which the words 'Scicon Sports' can be found(Image credit: Getty Images)
Spearheaded somewhat by the recent launch of the Oakley Kato, radical-looking cycling sunglasses are having a bit of a moment recently, and it appears Scicon is getting in on the action, as we've spotted Tadej Pogačar sporting some wild-looking specs at this year's Tour de France.
The sunglasses are as yet unreleased, so details are understandably sparse, but they differ from the conventional design philosophy with some radical features.
The main layout of the eyewear is a half-frame design with a solid brow, but the lenses feature unconventional slotted trailing edges, as well as a wide rounded cut out that extends the lenses downward beyond the nose piece. The result is a design that we can't help but think resembles the wings of a bird.
The best cycling glasses have never shied away from bold design philosophy, with the oversized lens movement being the major theme of the past decade.
However, as lens size loses its novelty, manufacturers have seemingly turned toward shape in order to achieve the next big thing. Oakley's Kato launch - and Encoder, to a lesser extent - is a case in point, which wrap the lens around the bridge of the nose instead of cutting away the lens at this point.
This isn't the first time Scicon has used the Tour de France as a platform to promote its eyewear. Just last year in the October edition of the race, the brand supplied its podium wearers with a special edition, gold-plated diamond-encrusted shades - for podium use only. It also launched two new pairs in the run-up to the 2020 race; the Aeroshade, which Pogačar wore to victory over the three-week race, and the Aerowing.
Given the wing-like design, similar half-frame structure and arms that closely match the design of the existing Aerowing sunglasses, could it be that Pogacar's sunglasses are an adaptation of those?
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Cyclingnews has reached out to Scicon for details and will share as soon as we hear more.
Josh is Associate Editor of Cyclingnews – leading our content on the best bikes, kit and the latest breaking tech stories from the pro peloton. He has been with us since the summer of 2019 and throughout that time he's covered everything from buyer's guides and deals to the latest tech news and reviews.
On the bike, Josh has been riding and racing for over 15 years. He started out racing cross country in his teens back when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s, racing at a local and national level for Somerset-based Team Tor 2000. These days he rides indoors for convenience and fitness, and outdoors for fun on road, gravel, 'cross and cross-country bikes, the latter usually with his two dogs in tow.
