Radical new sunglasses for Tadej Pogacar at the Tour de France
New Scicon eyewear with a wing-like aesthetic and slotted edges
Spearheaded somewhat by the recent launch of the Oakley Kato, radical-looking cycling sunglasses are having a bit of a moment recently, and it appears Scicon is getting in on the action, as we've spotted Tadej Pogačar sporting some wild-looking specs at this year's Tour de France.
The sunglasses are as yet unreleased, so details are understandably sparse, but they differ from the conventional design philosophy with some radical features.
The main layout of the eyewear is a half-frame design with a solid brow, but the lenses feature unconventional slotted trailing edges, as well as a wide rounded cut out that extends the lenses downward beyond the nose piece. The result is a design that we can't help but think resembles the wings of a bird.
The best cycling glasses have never shied away from bold design philosophy, with the oversized lens movement being the major theme of the past decade.
However, as lens size loses its novelty, manufacturers have seemingly turned toward shape in order to achieve the next big thing. Oakley's Kato launch - and Encoder, to a lesser extent - is a case in point, which wrap the lens around the bridge of the nose instead of cutting away the lens at this point.
This isn't the first time Scicon has used the Tour de France as a platform to promote its eyewear. Just last year in the October edition of the race, the brand supplied its podium wearers with a special edition, gold-plated diamond-encrusted shades - for podium use only. It also launched two new pairs in the run-up to the 2020 race; the Aeroshade, which Pogačar wore to victory over the three-week race, and the Aerowing.
Given the wing-like design, similar half-frame structure and arms that closely match the design of the existing Aerowing sunglasses, could it be that Pogacar's sunglasses are an adaptation of those?
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Cyclingnews has reached out to Scicon for details and will share as soon as we hear more.
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As the Tech Editor here at Cyclingnews, Josh leads on content relating to all-things tech, including bikes, kit and components in order to cover product launches and curate our world-class buying guides, reviews and deals. Alongside this, his love for WorldTour racing and eagle eyes mean he's often breaking tech stories from the pro peloton too.
On the bike, 32-year-old Josh has been riding and racing since his early teens. He started out racing cross country when 26-inch wheels and triple chainsets were still mainstream, but he found favour in road racing in his early 20s and has never looked back. He's always training for the next big event and is keen to get his hands on the newest tech to help. He enjoys a good long ride on road or gravel, but he's most alive when he's elbow-to-elbow in a local criterium.