El Cyclista

05.21.09

Renault-Elf Cycling Team

A french classic from the era of Hinault, LeMond and Fignon. I grew up seeing this jersey on Sunday afternoons Tour De France coverage with “The Badger” kicking ass up the Alps. The team ran from 1981 to 1985 after Renault took over the sponsorship of Gitane. The team was managed by the progressively minded Cyrille Guimard who was one of the first managers to bring American riders into the modern day peleton, including LeMond. They won every major title in cycling apart from the Vuelta. This jersey was designed for black shorts using the Renault brand colors and taking cues from the Renault design systems diagonal stripes. Also nice to see only two sponsors on the shirt, different times my friend. Understated? No, but French flare? Absolutely.