Posted on July 12, 2022 by Cory Benson
The Rapha + Palace collabo steps it up a notch with wild technical cargo skirts, shirts, pants, pullovers & shorts, and yes limited edition Crocs in matching pink & blue adorned with Palace’s cute cartoon dragon & team edition Jibbitz. At once this is the nuttiest crossover between the cycling clothing maker and the skate & streetwear brand, but it may be the most approachable for cycling fans that aren’t always looking to be kitted out in replica cycling kit as they stand by the side of the road or cheer for their favorite riders from home.
c. Rapha + Palace, photos by Benedict Brink
So the Rapha + Palace special edition Tour de Force / Tour de France Femmes kit and custom-painted Cannondales were already flashy and a bit on the wild side, but now with an off-the-bike collection it goes next level.
Where else in cycling are you going to find limited team edition Crocs, technical zip-off cargo skirts & cargo shirts, crop tops, cargo pants, and cargo vests?
And yeah, there are official Rapha + Palace edition Jibbitz shoe charms to decorate your Crocs with the cartoon dragon that Rapha and Palace call “a symbol of supernatural power, wisdom, strength, and hidden knowledge”.
Or just a set of matching pins to stick on your favorite jacket or backpack.
Just like the focus on much of this Rapha + Palace Tour de Force switch-out kit for both the EF Education-Tibco-SVB and EF Education-Easypost teams is the return of big-stage pro women’s stage racing with the 8-stage Tour de France Femme, a lot of the coolest kit here is for women – see crop tees, tech skirt/shirt/shorts.
But there’s plenty of “genderless” items for men & women to share – a technical hooded anorak-style Pullover Jacket, some technical Zip-Off Trousers, and a technical cargo pocket-laden Utility Vest are the more tech-heavy options – made from water-repellent, wrinkle-resistant, ripstop nylon.
Then, there are short & long-sleeve t-shirts, a few classic hoodies, a vented cap, and that dragon on a silk scarf to wrap over your neck.
Rapha says the full casual wear line-up was all developed for the pro team riders to wear lounging around before and after the races, but it’s available for fans now too. Or at least it will be at the end of the week.
Like the actual pro replica riding kit & bike, the Rapha + Palace off-the-bike line officially goes on sale in super limited quantities on July 15 at 11:00 BST for the UK, EU, Canada & South Korea; later the same day July at 11:00 EDT for the USA; and lastly the next day July 16 at 11:00 JST for the Asia-Pacific market.
RCC members should get access to buy it all 24 hours earlier too.
Head to Rapha for all the full details, or one of their Clubhouses or Palace’s shops.
Don’t just lay around and let it slip away.
Rapha.cc & PalaceSkateboards.com
Cory Benson is the EU Tech Editor of Bikerumor.com.
Cory has been writing about mountain bikes, enduro, cyclocross, all-road, gravel bikes & bikepacking on and off for over 25 years, since before several of these even had names in our industry.
Prior to that (and at times, concurrently), Cory worked as an Architect specializing in environmental sustainability, a IBD bike shop designer & consultant, an independent product designer, a bike shop mechanic, and a mountain biking instructor.
Based in the Czech Republic for over 15 years, Cory spends much of his time traveling around Europe, riding bikes, and meeting directly with many of cycling’s key European product developers, industry experts & tastemakers for an in-depth review of what’s new, and what’s coming next. A technical off-road rider at heart since the 1990s, Cory’s cycling has evolved to cover everything from the wide range of riding aero road bikes on dirt roads to thrashing enduro bikes in the European bikeparks & trail centers, with plenty of XC, CX & gravel in between.
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Why do people in the cycling world like Rapha?
Why don’t you like Rapha?
© Copyright 2022 Bikerumor, All Rights Reserved