Tour de France’s yellow Jersey by P&R Têxteis

Will Julian Alaphilippe arrive this Sunday to Paris with the yellow jersey, giving the French a joy that has been eluding them for 33 years, ever since Bernard Hinault snatched his 5^th Tour de France back in 1986? Or will the British Geraint Thomas repeat his last year’s feat?

Well, nobody really knows the answers to these questions, yet. The only sure thing is, whoever makes it to the Champs Élysées with the yellow jersey will be wearing a jersey developed and made in by P&R Têxteis, in São Veríssimo, Barcelos.

And not just the characteristic jersey worn by the leader of the general classification. All the other jerseys – green, white, dotted, etc. – worn by the frontrunners in the several competitions (mountain, young rider, combativité…) of the most famous cycling competition in the world are made in Portugal, by the company founded in 1982 by the couple Maria da Ascensão and Duarte Nuno Pinto.

For 8 years running that P&R makes these jerseys for the French brand Le Coq Sportif, exclusive supplier of the Tour de France, with whom the Portuguese company also partners up to supply the sportswear of the North-American team Education First, currently represented by two athletes in the General’s Top 10.

“Besides being the most charming ones in the platoon, they are also the most technically refined and sophisticated. Everything is glued, there are no seams”, reassures Duarte Nuno Pinto, 62, in the picture with his first bicycle, a gift from his parents, both elementary school teachers, when he turned 18 and finished his 1^st year exams at the Economy Faculty of the University of Porto with flying colours.

“My parents wanted to give me a car, but I went for this road bike instead”, recalls the founder of P&R Têxteis, sponsors of Rádio Popular/Boavista and the Portuguese Cycling Federation.