Tour Countdown: Yellow tour leader jersey ditched, orange in
“Hopefully it gets some interest because that’s what it’s about. People will go, ‘why did you do that?’ It’s because SBS has been with us for 11 years and we think it’s cool."
The 2023 SBS Bank Tour of Southland will start on October 29. In the lead-up to the event, The Tribune is running a series of Tour Countdown stories.
Tour of Southland officials have ditched the traditional yellow tour leader’s jersey and replaced it with a new orange jersey for the 2023 race starting on October 29.
Race director Glen Thomson said they had decided on the move to honour the support it had received from the event’s major sponsor SBS Bank.
Thomson admits he won’t be too fazed if the change in colour does cause a bit of a stir amongst some.
“Hopefully it gets some interest because that’s what it’s about. People will go; ‘why did you do that?’ It’s because SBS has been with us for 11 years and we think it’s cool.
“What they are doing for us is pretty amazing, and I think they are going to carry on looking after us too.”
Thomson said SBS staff and gone above and beyond what is required of them as a Tour sponsor, and he really appreciated that.
“It’s a leader’s jersey with a difference. I like the orange jersey.”
SBS Bank Chief Executive Mark McLean said the tour is a high-profile event for cycling and Southland, with all stages providing plenty of excitement as towns across Southland get behind the cyclists.
“SBS loves supporting Kiwis doing great things in our backyard we are proud of what this tour means for our region and the people of Southland,” Mr McLean said.
The Tour of Southland first started in 1956 and for a good chunk of its history, the tour leader has worn yellow.
Although Thomson pointed out it hasn’t always been that way. At one point the tour leader wore a fluro green jersey.
He added the Tour de France actually owned the rights to the yellow jersey.
Tour de France organisers first awarded the yellow jersey in 1919 so gathering crowds could easily identify the race leader. Before that, the leader simply wore a green armband.
Added to that was the fact that the newspaper which sponsored the Tour de France at the time was printed on yellow paper.
In 1931 the Tour of Italy introduced a pink jersey for its tour leader because its sponsor La Gazzetta dello Sport was printed on pink paper.
Thomson said it had synergies with what the Tour of Southland was now doing, given the orange jersey stood out in the race and it also honoured the key sponsor of the event.
The 2023 Tour of Southland will run from October through to November 4. Nineteen teams will lineup in this year’s tour with 114 riders taking to Southland’s roads.
This story was published in partnership with SBS Bank.
Good call Tommo.