The German capital of fashion hosted a dress show on Burgplatz just outside the town hall with all 198 contenders of the 104th Tour de France riding their bike throughout the old town of Düsseldorf in the middle of the crowd. The favourite color of the peloton this summer is white. Team Sky, Trek-Segafredo and Katusha-Alpecin turned up with their newly designed uniforms that are predominantly white.
It was also an opportunity to discover the new national champions’ jerseys. The big question mark was Fabio Aru’s as people remembered the green-white-red representation of the Italian flag was very small on the Astana jersey that Vincenzo Nibali had at the start of the 2014 Tour de France in Leeds. This time around it’s a real tricolor outfit, similar to the Belgian one worn by Oliver Naesen (AG2R-La Mondiale) and the French one worn by Arnaud Démare without any publicity as it is the tradition at FDJ. “To wear this jersey is really emotional, especially because it’s the classic one”, Aru commented. “To start the Tour with this jersey is an immense privilege. I’m thankful to the team for having chosen this design.”
The dominant color of LottoNL-Jumbo is now black rather than yellow and Fortuneo introduced their new outfit with co-sponsor Oscaro. It was also emotional for the German riders to be exposed to their home crowd. “This is for sure one of the biggest opportunities in my career”, Tony Martin declared. “I’m really proud to be part of this amazing atmosphere here. It’s a one-time chance in my life to start the Tour de France in my country. I’ve learned how to handle the pressure from the fans and media. I try to turn it into something positive.”
Martin designated Swiss rookie Stefan Küng of BMC as his main rival for the opening time trial on Saturday when the big hit of the parade will consist of the world champion riding alone against the clock with the aim of transforming the rainbow colors into yellow.
