In a one-of-a-kind project in which Team Jumbo-Visma fans were explicitly involved, AGU designed and produced this unique Tour de France jersey for Team Jumbo-Visma. With this, AGU keeps the riders of Team Jumbo-Visma cool in various ways, in a unique black Tour de France kit.

As it quickly became clear that black would be the predominant colour in the kit, AGU product developers have looked closely at how the clothing would hold up in the heat. When you ride full out, your body produces an enormous amount of heat. Of every 100 kilojoules of energy you burn, only 20-25 kilojoules are transferred to your pedals. The rest is heat that need to escape easily from the body or you would overheat.

Add to that the riding conditions during the Tour de France where, temperatures in the Alps and Pyrenees can rise to above 40 degrees Celsius. On a steep climb, riders deliver an enormous amount of energy at relatively low speeds. That means little wind and therefore less sweat that evaporates to cool the body. A large part of those stages they also ride above the tree line, without any shade.

Because the colour black normally absorbs a lot of sunlight which is converted to heat, the challenge was to mitigate this effect even in the most tough conditions.

In order to perform optimally even on the hottest days, the product developers of AGU together with Team Jumbo-Visma created jerseys and shorts with exceptional cooling properties. Team Jumbo-Visma's lightweight team jersey weighs 25% less than their 'normal' aero shirt and uses HeiQ's Smart Temp technology. Activated by body heat, this high-quality material reduces the temperature by up to 2.5 degrees compared to traditional materials. In the black Aero Premium bib shorts that the riders ride, Coldblack technology is used, whereby the sunlight, despite the colour, is still reflected.

Björn Jeurissen, CEO of AGU: “With TU Eindhoven, we tested the influence of the black jersey on body temperature by reproducing the heat with special heat lamps and measuring its effect on the body with sensors under the shirt. The test results show that there is no significant difference in temperature rise with the black jersey.” Together, these techniques contribute to delivering top performances.