For a second time ahead of the 2022 season, the UCI has forced a women's team into a late kit redesign, with Bizkaia-Durango told to alter their pink look.
Last month, the Andy Schleck-CP NVST-Immo Losch team were told to ditch the kits they'd already produced due to a clash with three WorldTour teams who had chosen the same orange, purple, and pink colour scheme.
On Tuesday, Bizkaia-Durango announced that they too, had been told to go back to the drawing board because of a clash with the UCI's own jersey for the leader of the Women's WorldTour.
Article continues belowThat jersey has been plum purple in recent years but became a lighter shade in 2021, with a lighter torso panel approaching the deep pink that Bizkaia-Durango have been wearing in recent years.
The UCI's design for the 2022 WWT leader's jersey has not yet been unveiled but the Spanish team revealed they'd had two versions of their 2022 kit rejected already.
"At this late time of the preseason we would have loved to show our kit for the 2022 season, but sadly we cannot yet," read a statement.
"We have worn pink for the last six seasons and this has become one of the hallmarks of the team. The Union Cycliste Internationale has rejected two different designs of our kit due to their similarity to the UCI Women's WorldTour leader's jersey.
"We don't know yet if we will be able to wear our colour this season, but we hope to show our new skin soon."
The news comes on the back of the controversy surrounding the Andy Schleck-CP NVST-Immo Losch, who were forced to back down in the face of SD Worx, UAE Team, and Human Powered Health, despite claiming they'd submitted their design first. They launched a sale of the rejected kit in order to recoup their costs and managed to sell the lot.
It is more common for the UCI to intervene over clashes with leaders' jerseys, notably in major stage races, with Jumbo-Visma having to tweak their yellow jerseys for the Tour de France in recent years.
