From ducks to dragons: EF Education First and Rapha partner up to create another Palace Skateboards kit

In 2020, it was the ducks used for the team's Giro d'Italia kit that divided opinion. Now, it's the little yellow dragons chosen for the women's and men's Tour de France teams.

If you wonder why the dragons, you're not alone, and a Rapha's spokesperson explained they choose dragons as they are "a symbol of supernatural power, wisdom, strength and hidden knowledge. It's not gender specific, but we felt it was a great way of encapsulating the spirit of the women who ride for EF Education-TIBCO-SVB."

At the same time, the switch-out kit for EF Education-TIBCO-CVB (women's) and EF Education-EasyPost (men's) wants to celebrate the return of the Tour de France Femmes, which starts from Paris the day the men's race ends there. And it's doing so by blending references to the Tour's history with disruptive ways to look at the sport – a Palace trademark."The changeout is our way of celebrating women in sport and the Tour de France Femmes," said Jonathan Vaughters, the CEO of the EF Education-EasyPost team.

"It's wild, it's bold, and it's an exciting time for the cycling world and long overdue. It's an honour for our team to race in this kit in advance of the women's Tour de France. Both races will be incredible, and we'll fight to keep this kit and its celebratory message at the front of the race this July."

Related: First look at Rapha Pro Team gravel jersey

Both teams will wear the same design: a pink jersey and black bib shorts (classic EF Education First colours) featuring a large female symbol (♀) supported by two yellow dragons in the front. "It's a true honour to have the EF Education-EasyPost men's team racing their Tour de France in a jersey that celebrates women's cycling," said Linda Jackson, the founder and owner of the EF Education-TIBCO-SVB team. "It's been a very long road to get to this point, and all of us, the riders, staff and management, realise the significance of this jersey and will be proud to wear it."

The pieces of the kit that received the Rapha + Palace switch-out include the women's and men's Team Aero Jersey, Pro Team bib shorts and Pro Team training jerseys (plus socks and caps, of course).

Related: Discover Rapha Pro Team crit jersey

The change will not only affect the kit. All the Cannondale team frames (including SystemSix, SuperSix EVO and SuperSlice) will be customised with the same design, as will their POC helmets and Crocs shoes.

Both teams will wear a customised off-the-bike special edition of their casual wear. The collections will be available to the public through the Rapha and Palace stores online plus in selected Rapha Clubhouses and Palace stores. In addition, the Cannondale SuperSix EVO frameset will be available through rapha.cc, palaceskateboards.com and cannondale.com.

All items will be sold in limited numbers, and there will be three drops at localised times in the UK, EU, Canada and the USA and the Asia-Pacific region.

A further selection of Rapha + Palace on-bike items will be made available to Rapha Cycling Club members active on or before June 28 or who had renewed a lapsed membership by the day before the commercial launch (details to be confirmed soon).