Italian brand replaces Le Coq Sportif as producer of Vuelta's leader jerseys
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Nairo Quintana makes his winners speech from the podium(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nairo Quintana is cheered on by the Colombian fans during stage 21(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Nairo Quintana finishes off the Vuelta a Espana victorious(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Vincenzo Nibali after winning the 2016 Giro d'Italia
Pietro Santini, the owner and founder of Santini clothing, has outfitted professional cyclists for decades.(Image credit: Santini)
A walk down memory lane at Santini - scores of the sport's champions have worn Santini jerseys.(Image credit: Daniel Benson)
Froome, Quintana and Chaves spray the Cava(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Vuelta a Espana organiser Unipublic has secured a five-year deal with the Italian clothing manufacturer Santini to produce the classification jerseys from 2017.
The race's jerseys include the red of race leader, the green for the leader of the points race, the white and blue polka dot mountains classification jersey and the plain white of the combined points jersey.
"We are delighted with the sponsorship of La Vuelta, one of the leading men's road cycling races of the UCI World Tour. In more than 80 years of tradition, La Vuelta today is close to everyone's hearts. We share the same values and passion. It will be an exciting event for everyone, not only for pros but for all cyclists who train with passion and challenge themselves."
Santini will replace Le Coq Sportif, which has been the Grand Tour's jersey partner since the 2012 race. The Le Coq Sportif deal was originally done as an ASO wide partnership – Tour de France organiser ASO has wholly owned Unipublic since 2014. The French brand will remain the jersey sponsor for the Tour de France, and other ASO races, after penning a new five-year deal in September.
Santini, full name Santini Maglifico Sportivo, was founded in 1965 by Pietro Santini who developed the brand while recovering from an accident that left him with a broken leg. The company also supplies the Giro d’Italia with their classification leader jerseys, as well as the kits for WorldTour team LottoNL-Jumbo, although they will be replaced by Shimano for 2017, and the rainbow and World Cup leader jersey's for the UCI.
The full route for the 2017 Vuelta a Espana will be announced in January, but organisers confirmed in September that it would begin with a team time trial in Nimes on August 19 and a further stage will be held in France. It is set to finish in Madrid on September 10.
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