Giordana: The Intelligentsia Race Team Kits

If you happen to love great coffee and great crit racing, you’re likely well aware of Intelligentsia Racing. Intelligentsia’s 3-rider team keeps a caffeine-sharpened focus on the famed Red Hook series, an event that has grown from an underground birthday race into an international affair. The team has pulled together an impressive list of sponsors in addition to Intelligentsia: Pinarello, Phil, Enve, Giordana, and Rotor. Peloton Service Course spoke with Giordana’s Creative Director, Julian Andretta, to learn more about the team’s distinctive training and race ride wear.

Peloton/Images: Sam Dunn & Roman Siromakha

The partnership initially evolved out of a mutual relationship with Pinarello. After getting to know team leader and 2016 Red Hook series champion, Colin Strickland, Giordana was encouraged by the possibility, “We were obviously really impressed by Colin’s season in 2016 but also by his character, he’s really easy going and also a fan favorite.”

Knowing that Colin had a clear focus on the highest quality, Giordana provided separate kits for training and racing. For training, the team uses Giordana’s FR-C kit, which is also worn by this year’s Astana and Orica-Scott squads. The racing kit is all about the aero, so Intelligentsia Racing opted for Giordana’s short- and long-sleeved Chrono Speedsuit. Ryan Roth of Silber Pro Cycling wore that same speedsuit to win the Canadian TT Championships, according to Andretta.

The Chrono Speedsuit is not only aero, it’s also great platform for design. “The paneling wraps all the way around from the back to the front so you can have logos pretty much anywhere on the top half of the suit without and interrupting seams,” says Andretta. Giordana and Pinarello came onboard before the team had secured a naming sponsor. This had Julian and the design crew looking to the company’s past partnerships for inspiration. He also wanted to ensure they captured the exciting spirit of crit racing, “Spectators really can have a lot of fun at a crit race as riders come around every few minutes and you can see racers making moves and fighting for position every time they come around.”

Once Intelligentsia sponsored the team, the creative inspiration crystallized. Intelligentsia’s playful approach to its own branding and not having a lot sponsor logos to integrate gave the design team artistic latitude. “We had seen a lot of really crazy kits in past Red Hook Crit races so this opportunity also gave us a chance to do something interesting and different with the team designs,” says  Andretta. This led the team to design a new kit for each venue in the race series.

Julian sums it best they approached creating a consistent and well branded look across multiple designs,

With races in Brooklyn, London, Barcelona, and Milan you can’t help but get excited for each race for different reasons. Each city is so distinct. When I was thinking about the team’s kit, I thought it would be really fun to have a new look for each race, inspired by the location in some way, national colors or landmarks, or the country’s flag. Also having an element that would unify each design over the series was really important and this was always going to be the stripes. The stars on the arms, a part of Intelligentsia’s main logo, are also carrying through each new design.

Giordana’s custom program is available to all teams and clubs. Here are the details to get your crew rolling in Giordana style. 

• 10 piece minimum per garment
• No design fee
• 4 main collections for jerseys and bibs, from the  entry-level Vero Pro to the top-end FR-C Pro
• Size samples for trying on different sizes and comparing collections are available
• Jackets, vests, long sleeve jerseys, gloves, socks, caps and much more is also available
• 6- 8 week turnaround time once artwork is approved.
• Free ground shipping

Giordana has multiple in-house designers that work with clubs, teams, and shops. Even if you have only a rough concept, Julian’s team can work with you.  They also offer online ordering for teams through the Giordana Kit Builder website. A team captain can create a store, members can place their order for items, and everyone can pay separately so the captain does not have to collect from all team members. Giordana custom clothing is produced alongside their Pro Team and inline apparel at a family-owned factory in Montecchio Magiore in Italy.

Visit www.giordanacycling.com/custom for more details.