Anatomy of a Photo: Unveiling of Banesto’s New Kit

With the “widely anticipated” unveiling of both Leopard-Trek’s and Garmin-Cervelo’s new kits we thought it would be interesting to look back into the archives to see how it used to be done.  Nowadays, the new team and kit presentations are done with much fanfare, limousines, black-tie events, and sometimes even strippers.  But back in the day (at least in the early 90’s) it was a much more simple affair.

Looking at this photo it’s not hard to imagine the Banesto squad prepping outside on the Banesto bank steps in Madrid or some such place while the bank’s board of dignitaries waits inside in the conference room to see the product of their  investments.   But this photo leaves the viewer with these questions.  Is the team fixing to mess with the board by hiking up their bibs, pulling down their leg warmers, and wearing their sunnies underneath helmet straps?  Are they initiating new riders to The Rules by visually demonstrating crisp tanlines and the faux pas of short socks?  Or maybe they’re waiting for Big Mig to show up and dress them properly.  These are the questions a Velominatus asks.

(disclaimer:  after vigorous “research” it was determined that it is not known whether this picture was taken at a pre-season team meeting or even in Spain for that matter)

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39 Replies to “Anatomy of a Photo: Unveiling of Banesto’s New Kit”

  1. Sometimes I’m amazed at the Keepers’ deep knowledge and understanding of every aspect of cycling mechanics, culture, and history.

    And then there are the other times…

  2. I’m trying to decide if the guy at the back is violating an as-yet undocumented Rule against flipping the visor up on your cap if you’re wearing a helmet or hairnet.

    Obviously The Rules don’t apply while getting your pre-race hummer, but aside from Gilbert pulling the look off very well, generally speaking, it is a disastrous look.

    Also, what’s with the sandwich bags over the saddles?

  3. After further investigation, the evidence seems conclusive:

    Very Pro, very awesome:

    Jury is out on this one; the only thing making this picture cool is the loads of The V being piled on.

    Compare that to this, where not even a shattered knee is keeping Museeuw from looking totally rad.

    Finally, due to generous helpings of Rule #5 and Rule #9, this looks badass.

    My conclusion is that the upturned visor is bad; it can be offset somewhat by the application of other Rules, but it definitely doesn’t help.

  4. It’s clearly taken prior to an early season race, as the bikes have numbers on. As Reverend Dick says, the shorts are rolled up for the application of embrocation. The plastic bags on the saddles are to prevent them getting soggy before the rider has even sat on them.

    The beauty of the cycling cap is that, unlike a peaked helmet, the peak can be flipped out of the way if conditions change – it might look more goofy flipped up but winning races probably makes up for the shame.

    In this era it was usually in the early season races where we’d catch our first glimpse of the latest team strips. They weren’t really ever “launched” as such…

  5. @Oli Brooke-White
    I was really, really, really, really hoping they were their racing capes waiting and not a soft-ass lame reason like “we don’t like soggy saddles”. I refuse to believe that’s the reason.

    While I agree on the practicality of the visor, under the helmet flip-ups just don’t work, unless, as I outlined before, there is enough other Awesome happening. Suffice to say, none of us should attempt it, and your explanation falls short of explaining why the blazes the hummer guy his his flipped up.

    Also, there is no reason on Earth good enough to justify rolling short up and legging down like that – at least not in public. I don’t care what they are doing – that look can only be executed in a small, dark room with no witnesses.

    @RideFit
    Beautiful.

  6. @frank
    On a recent cold, damp but not really raining ride during which my glasses kept fogging I tried the Gilbert brim-flip. The brim did a nice job deflecting the airflow over my lenses thereby defogging them.

    Otherwise as big a fan as I am of Phil-Gil I can’t endorse the brim flip for us mere mortals in bright sun, or in pouring rain as during his recent Lombardia triumph.

  7. I don’t know what you guys are staring at. All I see are Time pedals, C-Record cranks and Delta brakes.

  8. 1. Gilbert flips his lid because he’s always got his nose on the fucking stem, just wailin’ on dudes.

    2. Internet indicates this is Banesto circa 1991*. Best guesses** (L to R) Armand de Las Cuevas, ??, Fabian Fuchs, Jean-Francois Bernard

    3. I’d have to guess an early-to-mid-early race. Armand de las Cuevas has some tanned guns there, but the one with his back turned – I’d suspect Miguel Indurain, especially with the relative light tan on the legs – indicating he’s just started racing into form. (Also his haircut is HELLA tidy, and he’s popping the hat over the chorizo hairnet)

    * http://www.memoire-du-cyclisme.net/pelotons/equipes.php?q=9156
    ** http://www.cyclingarchives.com/ploegfiche.php?id=8274

  9. Number 29 isn’t Indurain, that’s Jeff Bernard. The guy sitting down is Perico Delgado. Don’t know about the other two, but I’m pretty sure that’s not Armand de las Cuevas on the left.

    @Frank – a pro has to protect his musket and balls, hence not starting a race on a cold, wet saddle. This is just good sense. They don’t roll their shorts down until the liniment is fully soaked in. This is also good sense.

    And, while I agree with you on flipped caps under helmets not being super stylish, I figure they probably didn’t have this photo taken with a bunch of anal fashion weenies and their arbitrary rules in mind…

  10. Still today in a era of high-tech team bus (like the team Sky) this is the atmosphere that you can find at the start of a Spring ‘Classica’ and it’s fantastic to be there.

    I’ve always been disappointed by the ‘diva racers’ that stay in the ammiraglia or in the team bus until the very last minutes before the start, whatever the reason as John Wayne said: ‘It’s a sign of weakness’.

  11. Gilbert seems to continually violate The Rules on the helmet level. His is always pushed back and up a bit, though he does seem to be getting better of late. He still wears the dual earrings though, which I think aren’t so sweet. But hey, he lives The V so I’m not going to question the dude too much.

    That photo is awesome. Love the hiked up bibs. Those jerseys are sweet as. I have a Banesto jersey, but from a different year; I’m going to have to keep my eye out for this vintage.

    I love the photo of Big Mig TT in Banesto kit on a funny bike painted Banesto colors.

    I

  12. Gilbert is one of those guys who will singlehandedly not just transcend the rules but actively alter them. If his 2011 is anything like his 2010 (2009, 2008…) and we see him in the flipped cap look a fair bit, I guarantee you we won’t be having this conversation this time next year. This also kinda goes back to this, and maybe we ought not to frown on cycling cap wear from cyclists. At the same time, the Cannibal’s look never really caught on either, but who can imitate the Cannibal?

  13. It’s great the different perception that one can have on a rider (and I like that).

    Even if I’m a huge fan of the Classics and the rouleurs that exalt them
    I’m not a fan of Gilbert, he’s very good, he had always won in style, but
    his words at the WC in Australia made me think at a tragical deficency in Rule n.5

  14. @Steampunk
    Rule Transcendence is possible only by the hardest riders. Pantani is an example, with the bandana; Cipo is another, with the Rainbow Turd kit. Indeed it will be interesting to see how our view has changed, if at all, by next year.

    @Pedale.Forchetta
    I’ve not been a big fan either, until his Lombardy win and his ride at the Worlds. Thankfully, I didn’t see the comments from him after the race that you’re referring to, so I’m still a blissful, freshly converted fan.

  15. Yes, and we have to consider that the actual builder for those frames was Dario Pegoretti!

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  17. If Phil-Gil keeps saying shit like this AND riding like a demon, he can break whatever rules he wants.

    “It was nice in Geelong, I liked it. For me, if I could decide, I would race without them (radios). I can see a race, feel a race, so I don’t need it. I won Lombardia without a radio. I was in contact with my teammates and not with the car, and when you have a good vibe with your teammates it’s more important than the one with your directeur sportif. The most important relationship is the one you have with your teammates,” Gilbert told Cyclingnews.

    “Often in races I start with a radio but most of the times I take it off. A lot of riders want the radios because it makes them feel safe but I don’t understand that. I respect it, but I don’t understand. They say it’s dangerous because you don’t know what’s coming up or around the corner but it’s also dangerous when the directeurs tell everyone that they need to be in the first ten coming into a tricky corner. Everyone goes full gas trying to move to the front.”

  18. Marko :
    If Phil-Gil keeps saying shit like this AND riding like a demon, he can break whatever rules he wants.
    “It was nice in Geelong, I liked it. For me, if I could decide, I would race without them (radios). I can see a race, feel a race, so I don’t need it. I won Lombardia without a radio. I was in contact with my teammates and not with the car, and when you have a good vibe with your teammates it’s more important than the one with your directeur sportif. The most important relationship is the one you have with your teammates,” Gilbert told Cyclingnews.
    “Often in races I start with a radio but most of the times I take it off. A lot of riders want the radios because it makes them feel safe but I don’t understand that. I respect it, but I don’t understand. They say it’s dangerous because you don’t know what’s coming up or around the corner but it’s also dangerous when the directeurs tell everyone that they need to be in the first ten coming into a tricky corner. Everyone goes full gas trying to move to the front.”

    makes perfect sense to me

  19. I am new here, and this photo alone made me join. I was and am very close to this team. Echavarri, team manager on the right, was the first of modern team managers. I have had the chance to do grand tour stages in the car with him. But the worst thing (or best…) he did to me was around 10 years before this photo. Start of a small race in the Basque Country, my father was going to do it in the team car and I was at there with the Reynolds team kit and my bike, I must have been like 10 years old. We were chatting with Echavarri about me starting racing and he just told me to forget about it and study hard instead. And that was it. Never joined a club although I trained with elites, but that was the end of my cycling career. Probably for the best.

  20. I have that team kit framed. used. still dirty from the last sweaty hard bastard that wore it.

  21. Awesome! Well, except for the sweaty part. Don’t uncork the picture frame. I’m not sure you’d ever get the smell out of the room. But awesome nonetheless!

  22. @frank

    After further investigation, the evidence seems conclusive:

    Very Pro, very awesome:

    Jury is out on this one; the only thing making this picture cool is the loads of The V being piled on.

    Compare that to this, where not even a shattered knee is keeping Museeuw from looking totally rad.

    Finally, due to generous helpings of Rule #5 and Rule #9, this looks badass.

    My conclusion is that the upturned visor is bad; it can be offset somewhat by the application of other Rules, but it definitely doesn’t help.

    Upturned visor feels like a Gomer Pyle style — not really badass.

  23. It’s funny, you all think short socks are not a good aesthetic today.  Taller socks are an eyesore today – just for advertisement.

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