Dear Lidl-Trek, long time listener, first time caller. I can say on behalf of lots of Canadian cycling fans, we are glad this whole saga is over, and our national champion, Derek Gee-West, has a new team. And what a team it is! Your WorldTour squad is stacked. Juan Ayuso, Matias Skjelmose, Giulio Ciccone, Mads Pedersen\u2026the list goes on. And good old Osgoode, Ont.\u2019s shining star, Derek Gee.<\/p>\n
Like everyone, we heard the rumours a while back he may have found a team after leaving the Team Formerly Known as Israel \u2013 Premier Tech. And Lidl-Trek seems like a great fit. It will be interesting to see how you all juggle so much GC talent, but I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve already put a lot of thought into it. (To your social team, can we avoid the Derek GeeCee thing this year? Especially since, thanks to another Canadian cycling star, Ruby West<\/a>, Derek has an extra last name.)<\/p>\n But back to kit. First off, it\u2019s clear you have some great ideas for design. The \u201cregular\u201d team jersey is spectacular. The paint jobs on those Treks are simply a very big chef\u2019s kiss.<\/p>\n And some of the other national championship jerseys look great. Quinn Simmons\u2019 stars-and-stripes\u2014great. Sure, there are always constraints when a team is trying to include vital exposure for sponsors, but you managed to pull off a solid Dannebrog <\/a>jersey\u2014the oldest flag in the world, no less\u2014for Mattias Skjelmose. Emma Norsgaard\u2019s Danish digs were also spot-on. Mathias Vacek\u2019s Czech kit is a beauty too.<\/p>\n And how can we forget the Holmgren twins? At least it\u2019s been easy for Bella, since she just keeps winning rainbow jerseys. The UCI has pretty strict rules on the placement of the bands, as I\u2019m sure your team knows, and every single one (there\u2019s been so many) of her rainbow jerseys just rocked. And sister Ava\u2019s Pan-Am kit was dynamite as well.<\/p>\n Ava\u2019s national championship jersey was fine, but it runs into the same problems that Gee-West has. We get it, there are no rules as to how a national championship jersey is designed. There\u2019s quite a bit of wiggle room from what the pros get on the podium as to what they wear on the road. (And don\u2019t get me started on the current podium jersey\u2014that\u2019s a whole other story.)<\/p>\n Mike Woods freestyled it big time with his hockey\/track kit.<\/a> This year, Alison Jackson went back to the O.G. kit, but stylized the maple leaf.<\/a><\/p>\n But Gee-West\u2019s maple leaf shouldn\u2019t be on his stomach. Again, sponsors, sure. But isn\u2019t there a way to move things around so it screams a little more Canada? Imagine how great it will be when he\u2019s at the Tour or the Giro (TBD, I guess) and a maple leaf jersey is roaring through the crowds.<\/p>\n Some maple leaves on the sleeves wouldn\u2019t hurt either\u2014that\u2019s usually a thing around here. In fact, you can look at his jersey (that he never even got a chance to race in because, well, you know) on that\u2026other team, for inspiration. Big ol\u2019 maple leaf, nice red sleeves.<\/p>\n The French have always been a nice inspiration for national championship jerseys, which are meant to resemble the flag. Former pro Antoine Duchesne, who raced with Groupama\u2013FDJ, had a beauty.<\/p>\n Vraiment content d\u2019enfin pouvoir porter cette belle feuille d\u2019\u00e9rable \ud83c\udf41 sur ce tour de Pologne \ud83c\uddf5\ud83c\uddf1! L\u2019\u00e9rable tatou\u00e9 sul chest! #incroyableerable<\/a> #erableduquebec<\/a> #equipegroupamafdj<\/a> #tourdepologne<\/a> \ud83d\udcf8@atcommunication<\/a> #garneausports<\/a> #XComfortZone<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/jYbXyXrNYR<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/5KgYqv2JON<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Antoine Duchesne (@tonythetiger_1) August 5, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n More recently, Olivia Baril of Movistar also rocked a pretty nice national championship jersey.<\/a><\/p>\n Listen, we are Canadian and never like to ruffle feathers\u2026well, sometimes we do if the situation warrants it\u2026but the season hasn\u2019t quite begun, so maybe you could try again with this jersey? It wouldn\u2019t be the first time a national championship jersey has been redone. Intermarch\u00e9\u2013Wanty (remember them?) redid Georg Zimmermann\u2019s German champs jersey<\/a>. And recall how Italians were\u2026not happy with Vincenzo Nibali\u2019s top at Astana?<\/a><\/p>\n Just move the maple leaf up a bit, maybe throw a few on the sleeves. We\u2019d be so grateful. Either way, best of luck this year.<\/p>\n Love, Canada.<\/p>\n