Jumbo-Visma launch fairytale theme park-inspired kit for the Tour de France

If you have a dream of wearing a special Jumbo-Visma Tour de France jersey that is a collaboration between the Dutch team and an "enchanting theme park", then this news is for you.

The super-team, home of 2022 Tour winner Jonas Vingegaard, Wout van Aert, and Marianne Vos, announced the special kit on Monday afternoon. Called "The Vélodrome", it will be worn instead of their usual yellow strip at the Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes this July. 

It is mostly black, with stars across it, apart from a yellow left shoulder. There is a map of France inside a hexagon - l'hexagone - and features a carousel on the back. Also on the back, replacing where the map of France is on the front, is an individual star map for each rider. Dylan van Baarle's, for example, features the star map from when he won Paris-Roubaix last year.

It is the third year in a row that Jumbo will wear something apart from its yellow kit for the Tour, after a fan-chosen grey effort in 2021, and an art-inspired jersey last year.

The kit is made by AGU, and has been designed in partnership with Efteling, a fairytale-themed theme park in the southern Netherlands.

The park had an antique bicycle-themed merry-go-round called 'The Vélodrome', which has returned this year in a tribute to the founder of Efteling, Anton Pieck.

The jersey has been inspired by a story written by Sander de Bruijn, a designer at Efteling, which is a fairytale about "faith, dreams and perseverance".

"It tells the story of a little cyclist who, under a sparkling starry sky, breaks free from the merry-go-round called The Vélodrome and, as if in a dream, finishes on the Champs-Élysées," the press release reads.

"The shirt’s starry sky reflects the power of dreams, framed by elegant gold embellishments. This central philosophy of the campaign has been fully and visibly embraced by all partners."

If you order before May 1, you have the ability to "add a personal moment and the corresponding star position map - a unique opportunity to immortalise a fulfilled or future dream on the jersey".

Every rider, according to Jumbo-Visma, will also "carry a personal star chart to the finish line".

"Winning the Tour de France last year was a long-cherished dream come true," Jumbo-Visma general manager Richard Plugge said in the press release.

"By daring to dream big and setting a deadline for ourselves, we made our dream come true. With this jersey, we hope to inspire people worldwide to pursue their dreams.

"We will wear this jersey with great pride in the upcoming Tour de France, and, of course, we will do everything we can to make our dreams come true once again."

It is not known whether any of the riders of Jumbo-Visma are into astrology, but the press release claims that they are excited to wear it.