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The 2013 season is fast approaching. The Tour Down Under is only two weeks away, while La Tropicale Amissa Bongo and the Tour de San Luis, in which a few of the below teams will be competing, are even closer. The last few days have therefore seen announcements from most teams with their new kits on show. Here then are is a rundown of the World Tour kits, along with my entirely subjective and uninformed assessments of their designs.
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 Argos-Shimano |
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| Astana Small changes from the Kazakh squad. The trademark colours will mean the team will still be easily recognisable, although the odd logo in the middle of the jersey means lost marks 3/5 |
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| Blanco Pro Cycling Although the Rabobank orange may now be missing from the peloton, this cracking jersey is a welcome replacement. Simple yet stylish, let’s hope that if the team do find a sponsor they don’t meddle with the kit 5/5 |
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| BMC No change in design from the Swiss/American squad this year, the only change being the switch in manufacturer from Hincapie to Pearl Izumi. Largely good, but the black blocks intruding from the side spoil the simple front. 4/5 
Cannondale Despite dropping out of sponsorship, the lurid green of Liquigas remains in the new Cannondale kit. Probably not at the height of fashion but it will certainly make them easy to spot from overhead shots. Not sure what the white, black and blue stripes are all about though.
4/5
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| Euskaltel-Euskadi The characteristic orange of the Basque squad remains, even if the team have recruited foreign riders for the first time. Perhaps it is a need to reassert a Basque identity that prompted the region’s flag on the shoulder, which is a nice touch, but the large Euskaltel butterfly logo does spoilt the design a little. 4/5 |
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| FDJ The only change from 2012 is the addition of the B’Twin logo, which is a shame as this jersey remains one of the least interesting in the peloton. 2/5 |
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| Garmin-Sharp As the team unveiled a new jersey at the Tour de France last year, there is no change for the New Year. However this is for the best, as the blue, black and red works well and is highly recognisable, especially with the large Cervélo ‘é’ on the back. 4/5 |
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| Lampre-Merida Fuchsia and blue has never been a good look, but we’ve had to put up with it for a number of years now. If we thought it couldn’t have got much worse, the lime green of Merida, make this horror show of a jersey even worse. 1/5
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| Movistar Little change from 2012, apart from the slightly darker shade of blue. Simple and easily recognisable. 3/5 |
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| Omega Pharma-Quick Step No change in colours from 2012, although unfortunately the designers must have been fans of Accent.jobs-Willems’ dotty shocker form last year. One notable addition is the logo for being Team Time Trial World Champions. 2/5  Orica-GreenEDGE
Another team who have made very few alterations to their jersey for the new season. Still, the blue and green is a simple design that works well and makes them easy to pick out
3/5
 Radioshack |
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| Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank Yellow and blue always work well together, so there was no need to make significant changes from 2012’s distinctive jersey, although some may be saddened by lack of comeback from the infamous ‘crotch eagle’. 4/5 |
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| Team Sky Now we weren’t expecting Paul Smith to try to emulate Mapei’s designers, but this almost completely black kit is even more boring than expected. Not that the sponsor won’t be happy, their name couldn’t be more visible than this. 2/5 |
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| Vacansoleil-DCM Little change from the Dutch apart from the larger sun. This is hardly likely to become a classic design in years to come, but will be reasonably easy to pick out on TV. 3/5 |
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