Santini Cycling Wear and Unipublic have presented the official leader jerseys for La Vuelta 22. Also unveiled were four kits designed and made by Santini for the highlight stages of the iconic race which takes place between August 19th and September 11th this year.
“We are delighted to be dressing the great La Vuelta champions once again this year,” said Monica Santini, CEO at Santini Cycling Wear, “and to be here today at this event to celebrate six years of very fruitful partnership.”
There will be five rather than the usual four official 2022 jerseys at this year’s Vuelta a España: the classifications leaders of the first three stages in Holland will sport a special La Roja in homage to the host cities: Breda, ‘s-Hertogenbosch and Utrecht.
The Red Jersey for those stages was designed by the fashion designer Mattijs van Bergen, whose clients include the Queen of the Netherlands, Máxima Zorreguieta Cerruti d’Orange-Nassau. He took his inspiration from the emblems of the three Dutch cities La Vuelta passes through – using red and white motifs, lines and blocks. These are combined with the blue of the Dutch flag to create a grid on the jersey.
Once the ‘caravan’ returns to Spanish territory, the overall leader will swap back to the traditional La Roja jersey sponsored by Carrefour, while the points leader will sport the Škoda-logoed Green Jersey. The Plenitude-branded White Jersey will go to the best young rider and the Polka Dot jersey sponsored by Loterías y Apuestas del Estado will be donned by the King of the Mountains.
All of the leader jerseys were produced in Santini’s Italian factory from sustainable materials: Ecofabric RECY by Corno made using recycled yarn derived from recovered and recycled materials, and Native – Ecoknit by Sitip. Santini adds that this is also made from fibres and yarn recycled without the use of polluting chemicals to reduce consumption of natural resources and dependency on non-renewable energy.
Javier Guillén, General Director of La Vuelta, said “Following a successful six-year collaboration that has been beneficial to both parties, the jerseys are the race’s sign of identity, particularly La Roja leader’s jersey. These, along with the special commemorative editions, make us truly proud to have Santini dressing our champions.”
Alongside the official jerseys, each year Santini also makes several special kits dedicated to specific La Vuelta stages and comprising jersey, bibshorts, socks and gloves.
The Asturias kit celebrates the eighth stage of the Spanish race which traverses the northern region and has a new finish-line at Colláu Fancuaya: the yellow and blue colours of the region’s flag set the tone for the Santini kit dedicated to this stage.
La Vuelta 22’s 10th stage is a 31.1-kilometre time trial from Elche to Alicante. This kit was inspired by the Muralla Roja, a post-modern building on the Alicante coast designed by architect Ricardo Bofil in the early 1970s.
Dedicated to the Queen of this edition of La Vuelta, the Sierra Nevada kit celebrates this challenging climb. The white and green of the Andalusian flag provided the inspiration. he kit will also feature a motif inspired by the Virgen de las Nieves (Virgin of the Snows) statue at the top of the Hoya de la Mora climb.
The La Vuelta 22 finish-line is in Madrid, featured on the Santini kit dedicated to the last stage. It sports the city’s coat of arms of a bear and a strawberry tree, of which there is a statue on the Plaza de la Puerta del Sol. The kit is red – the La Vuelta colour – with a touch of orange in a nod to the Netherlands, host of the first three stages in the race.
Santini has also created accessories to coordinate with these kits: a jacket, windproof vest and cap with a multi-colour, multi-striped motif. For leisure wear there is also a white t-shirt with coloured stripes.
Replicas of the leader jerseys and the four special kits will be available to buy from the Santini website, and in selected cycling stores worldwide.
