AFRICAP is proud to announce sponsorship of the 2023 Tour De Lunsar, which showcases the best of cycling of Salone across all disciplines.
The 10th edition of Salone’s biggest bike race takes place in 3 weeks time, keep your eyes out for more stories and info related to the event.
The Science in Sport Tour de Lunsar is Sierra Leone’s premiere bicycle race, and aims one day to be the best-known event in the whole West African region. Established in 2013, the race has seen seven editions, with two years missed because of the Ebola outbreak and one year lost to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tour provides a focal point for the cycling community in Sierra Leone, and has been a key factor in the growth and development of the sport. It’s a source of national pride and an economic boost for the local community.
Our aspiration is to develop Sierra Leone into a cycling hub for West Africa. 2022 saw the first foreign riders take part in the Tour, with participants from the USA and Germany.
The biggest event of the cycling calendar is here and needs no introduction. Pushed back some days because of COVID-19. The Tour de France is undoubtedly the most prestigious cycling event in the racing calendar.
In recent years, we have noted a growing trend for winners to wear baseball style caps on the various podiums (we’re looking at you Chris Froome), rather than a traditional casquette. For us “Le Tour” has been (and still is) an opportunity to see the most eye catching caps and their corresponding jerseys.
In light of this we’re happy to launch our new blog series with our top rated 5 cycling caps ever produced by Tour de France winning teams.
NB. we have selected caps produced by winning teams not necessarily the caps worn when winners from these teams won the Tour
5. PEUGEOT BP MICHELIN
Our first entry is an essential classic. The Peugeot BP Michelin cap worn by 1967 winner Roger Pingeon and in 1975 by Bernard Thévenet. Commonly sold in white, we love the clean design of this cap with the right number of logos. Adding to the allure, is the fact that it is one of the few caps regularly worn backwards as styled by Frenchman Roger Pingeon.
4. FAEMA
The Faema cap proves that less is indeed more. Popularised by serial tour winner Eddy Merckx in 1969. We don’t think it needed Merckx to make it standout. No sponsors, no stripes, just plain red and white blocking and the team name visible under the brim and sides. This simple but effective design matched exceedingly well with the jersey and in Merckx’s case the bike itself!
3. MOLTENI
When one reminisces of vintage cycling period it is difficult not to think of the classic Molteni jersey made famous by that man again Eddy Merckx. There are a few Molteni caps we could have chosen from but our preference is the simple black cap featuring orange and white striping. No logos, just text. Allowing us to focus on the smart combination of black orange and white.
2. MERCATO UNO BIANCHI
One of the strongest professional cycling teams during the 90s was Mercato Uno Bianchi. This Italian team produced one of the standout team jerseys, a combination of yellow and the iconic Bianchi celeste and featuring an array of sponsors during a time when this became the norm. The cycling cap itself limits the heavy jersey branding for the team name only. Which works well against the canary yellow backdrop giving it a Formula 1 design and Villareal FC Yellow Submarine vibe.
Fun fact Mercato Uno’s lead cyclist Marco Il Pirato Pantani often chose to wear a Bandana, foregoing the cap altogether.
1. TEAM TELEKOM
Coming in at number one is possibly one of our favourite ever caps, the Team Telekom 2006 design.
Pink the colour is certainly not uncommon in the world of cycling after all the Giro D’Italia awards the pink jersey for the general classification winner.
But has pink ever been done this well? In our opinion no.
The symmetrical curved Adidas stripes juxtaposed against a prominent hot pink. The well-placed branding, T Mobile’s signature logo back when T Mobile was a household name. This is everything a cycling cap should be. Bold, distinct, not too brand heavy and coordinating well with the kit.
Team Telekom have since faded into memory but their legacy lives on though this cap and though subsequent teams who take on the hot pink aesthetic.
Telekom tour de France winners Bjarne Riis and Jan Ullrich wore the pink and white iterations in 1997 and 1998 respectively.
However here at AFRICAP our favourite Team Telekom cap will be will always be this all pink cap.
Which leads to the question, do you guys have a pink based cap in the works?
Well actually we do, watch this space…….
