Why kit COLOUR could be harming Jonas Vingegaard and Visma's Tour de France - and the radical change they could make
By Ben Snowball
Published 18/07/2025 at 14:07 GMT+1
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Black kits, searing heat and marginal gains - is Visma-Lease a Bike's Tour de France challenge being undone by something as simple as kit colour? Jonas Vingegaard's yellow jersey hopes nosedived on Stage 12 after a sweltering day in the mountains as Tadej Pogacar regained the yellow jersey in style. Vingegaard trails Pogacar by 3'31" in the general classification heading into Friday's time trial.
Stage 12 highlights: Pogacar detonates on Hautacam as Vingegaard and Evenepoel suffer
Video credit: TNT Sports
Jonas Vingegaard's hopes of a third Tour de France title unravelled on Stage 12 as he lost over two minutes to defending champion Tadej Pogacar. But could his team's black kit be partly to blame?
That’s the theory from The Breakaway studio after Vingegaard and his Visma-Lease a Bike team-mates wilted in sweltering heat on Thursday.
Visma had set a fierce tempo on the climbs, aiming to expose Pogacar and his UAE Team Emirates-XRG squad. But the plan started to fall apart on the first big ascent as Matteo Jorgenson and Simon Yates - key riders for Visma - began to suffer, forcing the team to ease off.
Then came the real damage. On the final climb to Hautacam, Pogacar detonated barely a kilometre into the 13km ascent. Vingegaard tried to respond, but quickly lost contact.
By the summit, the gap had ballooned as the weary Dane slipped 3'31" back in the general classification.
A day later, the spotlight turned to what the riders were wearing.
Visma's usual yellow kit is banned from the Tour to avoid clashing with the race leader's jersey, so the team rides in black. That choice could be working against them, suggested TNT Sports expert Adam Blythe, with temperatures hitting the mid-30s on the Tour's first true mountain stage.
"It's such a small detail, but when it's hot and you've got a black outfit on, you're always hotter because black attracts the sun," he said.
"Meanwhile, Tadej's in all white so that reflects the heat. If you look at Visma for the past five, six years, all their kit has been really dark colours.
"On a day like yesterday, it attracts more heat. It might be marginal, but if your body temperature is going up 0.2-0.3 degrees, that's a lot when you're trying to keep your body temperature down."
- 'We were joking' - Pogacar says long-range attack on Stage 12 happened by accident
- Pogacar outstrips Merckx and closes on Cavendish record after Hautacam heroics
His suggestion? Ditch the dark colours - and even consider going "pink" at future Tours.
Robbie McEwen, a 12-time Tour stage winner, agreed that marginal gains could add up across the three-week race.
"There are other options that might be cooler. It's a very minor detail, but you add it up over the entire Tour... It's been really hot for the first two weeks," he said.
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Is Visma's black kit cooking their Tour de France campaign?
Video credit: TNT Sports
Not everyone wearing black has struggled, of course. Team Sky - later Ineos Grenadiers - dominated the Tour in dark kits, although their leaders often swapped into yellow early.
And ultimately, it seems more likely that Pogacar is simply a generational talent - and not even a radical kit change will stop him. After all, he is riding at a frightening level.
"Based on my feeling, I feel at the best moment of my career," Pogacar said after claiming his 20th Tour stage win. "I'm riding in the rainbow jersey, I ride with an amazing team, amazing team-mates, so it's like a fairytale for me, riding on the bike these last couple of years."
Still, guest pundit Zdenek Stybar believes kit colour can't be dismissed entirely. "It's going to make a difference. After such an effort, a long day, a fast day, it can make a difference."
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