CANYON//SRAM Racing's 2022 kit: designed to perform

If there’s one cycling team kit in recent history that sticks with you, it’s the CANYON//SRAM Racing kit. It burst onto the racing scene in 2015 when the team was founded. The kit stood head and shoulders above the other comparatively tame uniforms of the Women’s WorldTour.

Critics lauded the injection of colour and eye-catching design to an otherwise blank canvas typically littered with rigid sponsor logos.

“I liked the idea of wrapping the body in hazard tape, to suggest an athletic threat or danger, to add attitude, which would come in handy when racing,” designer Ultan Coyle said of the original kit at the time.

Since then, the CANYON//SRAM Racing kit’s pioneering design has continued to influence that of rival teams both in the men’s and women’s pelotons. Bold, outstanding and love-or-hate kit designs are now increasingly common.

Well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

2022 is the year we strengthened our commitment to the team. As well as supplying the fleet of high-performance bikes including the Canyon Aeroad, Canyon Ultimate and Canyon Speedmax, the team will now be wearing Canyon clothing.

In partnership with Basque manufacturer Etxeondo, the magician behind the original team kit has conjured up the next generation of CANYON//SRAM Racing’s wardrobe.

“I wanted to create a sequel to the previous designs. I had the privilege of starting the design story back in 2015 with the first and second versions. I enjoyed seeing the design evolve into its marvellous guise for the third and fourth versions. Back to me, it came and I tried to acknowledge the previous designs while creating something distinct and different,” begins Ultan.

“I took the hazard tape from 2015 or at least elements of it,” he adds referring to the design process. “I played around with the single diagonal shapes. I positioned them along the shoulder line like diamonds wrapping around the body and giving a visual standout in the bunch.”

The background layers of the 2022 CANYON//SRAM kit design came shortly after.

“I was keen for the overall design not to be immediately obvious to the eye, so some elements are placed awkwardly and lead the eyes in different directions,” says Ultan. “I manipulated satellite imagery of weather systems as the base of the print and then layered meteorological data and wind patterns to give the print depth and chaos.”

The design has been replicated across the team cars and bikes to create a new visual presence for the team now in its eighth year as CANYON//SRAM Racing.

As the team embarks on their first training camp of the season, Sport Director Beth Duryea has nothing but compliments to give on the design. “We are bounding with energy for the new season ahead and the future of our team,” she says. “Ultan has reached new heights with this outstanding design and has encapsulated this energy. We’re incredibly proud that Canyon can bring it to life. Progressive kits are a legacy of our team and we believe we will again stand out with this design.”

Coupled with Ultan Coyle’s design and Etxeondo’s unparalleled kit manufacturing, this design is the best yet. Etxeondo leaves no stone unturned when it comes to the fabrics and processes used on its performance cycling kit. This kit is designed to perform.

You can see the new “Astral Burn” kit on the backs of Alena Amialiusik, Alice Barnes, Shari Bossuyt, Neve Bradbury, Elise Chabbey, Tiffany Cromwell, Chloe Dygert, Ella Harris, Mikayla Harvey, Lisa Klein, Kasia Niewiadoma, Maud Oudeman, Soraya Paladin, Pauliena Rooijakkers and Sarah Roy.

If you’ve always wanted to ride in the same kit as the pros, you’ll be able to get your hands on the very same kit as the team exclusively on our website in due course. Sign up to our newsletter to be the first to know when it lands.