French kit brand Ekoï has released a collection in collaboration with Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Launched at an event in London last week, the collection pays tribute to the winner of the 2012 Tour de France and decorated Olympian. As well as two different jerseys, one black and one white, the collaboration also includes bib shorts, arm warmers and bidons printed with the logo ‘WGO2.0’.
A written motif which lists Wiggins most notable achievements is also printed on the pocket of the jersey, which comes in simple black or white - there is no overt reference to mod culture here.
After partnering with several professional teams, including Cofidis and Lotto, Ekoï CEO Jean-Christophe Rattel said that he hopes working with Wiggins will enable the brand to break into the UK market. Ekoï also has collaborations with French former mountain biker Julien Absalon and retired Italian cyclist Claudio Chiappucci.
"We’re proud to unveil an exclusive collaboration that blends elite performance with British heritage," Rattel said. "This is more than a product launch, it’s a statement of identity, innovation and style."
Speaking at the launch event, Wiggins himself said that working with Ekoï had helped him recapture his love for cycling.
He said: "Part of this kit and working is my reintroduction to cycling. Two years ago, I never anticipated throwing my leg over a bike ever again. I hated cycling and I’ve come full circle with that now."
Before the product launch, Wiggins revealed that he had battled cocaine addiction post-retirement but was now clean from recreational substances and 12 months sober.
"I had a real problem and my kids were actually going to put me in rehab at one point, I’ve never spoken about that," he said. "I really was walking a tightrope. There were times when my son was worried I was going to end up dead in the morning. I was a functioning addict, there was no middle ground for me, I couldn’t ever have a glass of wine, as if I did, then I was buying drugs."
It is not the first time that the now 45-year-old has collaborated with a major kit brand. In 2015, Rapha produced the first strip for Team Wiggins and worked with the Londoner on further collections. In 2018, Wiggins launched a collection with premium British brand Le Col, which went through multiple iterations; the collaboration also extended to his former cycling team, Wiggins Le Col. The brand and Wiggins worked together for a number of years but that partnership is understood to have ended.
