Melbourne-based MAAP has a strong reputation in the cycling apparel world for its bold designs, so the brand has burst onto the WorldTour circuit with a pair of gray ‘Shadow’ bib shorts, using its own brand of bravery.
MAAP today unveiled the Jayco AlUla and Liv AlUla jerseys to be worn by Jayco in 2025, the brand’s first top-level collaboration that will see the Australian team wear purple and grey.
This color choice stems from MAAP’s history, study of main force aerial gunnery, and the desire to stand out. The brand also knows it will spark controversy.
“We just wanted to have something different in the main car group,” said MAAP’s creative director Misha Glisovic.
Glisovich explained that the jersey colors were inspired by “the nighttime desert sky, AlUla sunsets and the Aurora Australis,” a light phenomenon seen from the Australian outback. Shorts, by contrast, are an opportunity to rub against the grain. “We call it the shadow,” Glisovich said of the tone. “This is a color we’ve used in the main line before and it seems to work well with both bright and neutral colors.
“It’s a unique MAAP feel, bringing a lifestyle fashion influence into the sport to try and present something different within the peloton.”
(Image source: MAAP)
In the blur of black and navy shorts, Jayco AlUla’s lower half is sure to stand out. The “Shadow” colorway will attempt to fill the void left by AG2R La Mondiale, which sported the controversial brown bib shorts for over a decade before scrapping the shorts earlier this year.
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“The AG2R bib is iconic, right?” said MAAP co-CEO and co-founder Oliver Cousins. “We’re generally big fans of it and I personally think it’s a shame that they’ve abandoned it.
“I don’t think the shade is as controversial as the AG2R colors, but it’s definitely something we want to offer, and it’s different from the existing navy and black. I think it will be well received.”
MAAP was founded in 2014 and has previously supplied equipment to British Continental teams Trinity Racing and Lifeplus-Wahoo. Cousins said the brand’s entry into the World Tour had long been one of its “core objectives” and the Australian team was a natural choice.
“This is what we’ve always wanted to do,” the co-founder said. “I don’t think it’s going to be a surprise that we’re joining [to the WorldTour]. In my mind, it’s probably like, why hasn’t MAAP joined the World Tour yet? If you’re committed to the sport and developing performance-oriented gear, to me, you have to race in that space. “
The jersey color has been approved by the UCI and despite initial concerns that the purple might clash with the Women’s WorldTour leaders’ jersey, MAAP is confident that the shaded shorts, one of its best-selling colours, will be popular with fans.
“We want to sell it, too,” Jarrad Smith, MAAP’s other co-founder and co-CEO, said of the new kit. “It’s another huge goal for us or me personally to be able to see people wearing a Jayco jersey because we’re so proud of it. I want to wear it and hopefully it resonates with people.”
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