Among the sea of yellow helmets worn by Visma – Lease a Bike at this year’s Tour de France, Jonas Vingegaard stands out in a custom red-and-white design. It’s not just a fashion choice or a visibility trick. The two-time Tour winner is the only rider on his team to wear this colourway, and it’s not for tactical reasons, but rather sponsorship, specifically a Danish one.
Vingegaard’s red helmet: a nod to Bygma
Vingegaard’s striking red and white helmet is the result of a personal and team-level sponsorship deal with Bygma, a Danish supplier of tools and building materials. The colours match both the company branding and the Danish flag, creating a subtle nod to his national identity while also fulfilling a commercial role.
The partnership was announced earlier this year, and although Visma | Lease a Bike hasn’t publicly confirmed why only Vingegaard wears the colours, it’s not hard to connect the dots. As Denmark’s biggest cycling star and a two-time Tour winner, he offers maximum exposure for Bygma. It also aligns with a broader trend in professional cycling where high-profile riders land individual sponsorship deals separate from their team’s core sponsors.
The helmet itself is made by Giro, the team’s equipment supplier, and used for both road stages and time trials. Functionally, it’s no different from his teammates’ yellow versions, but visually, it signals his status and his sponsors.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersVan Aert and the Red Bull helmet
Wout van Aert’s helmet is even more recognisable – the Red Bull design, complete with its iconic charging bulls and bold blue-and-silver backdrop. It’s been a fixture in cyclocross for years, but since 2022, he’s also worn it in road races with Visma | Lease a Bike.
Unlike Vingegaard’s Bygma deal, van Aert’s is a personal sponsorship from Red Bull, and one of the most high-profile in the peloton. While only a handful of cyclists have Red Bull deals (Zoe Backstedt, Blanka Vas, Tom Pidcock and Anton Palzer among them), van Aert is often the only male rider regularly wearing the helmet on the road.
The UCI has no specific rules preventing personal helmet sponsors, as long as the helmet meets safety standards and team approval is granted. And in van Aert’s case, the team has good reason to say yes. When Wout first started wearing the helmet, Jumbo supermarkets – one of Visma’s former co-title sponsors – sold Red Bull in-store, and Red Bull was also a sponsor of Visma’s speed skating team. It’s a sponsorship alignment that benefits everyone.
Pidcock, by contrast, doesn’t get the same green light from Ineos Grenadiers, likely due to Ineos’ former larger stake in the Mercedes F1 team – a direct rival of Red Bull Racing in Formula 1. That conflict of interest likely explains why Pidcock reserves the Red Bull lid for mountain bike and cyclocross events, and not the road.
Photo Credit: A.S.O./Billy CeustersIs there a performance or tactical reason?
At first glance, the red helmet might seem like a clever tool for visibility in the bunch, helping teammates spot their leader more easily. But that’s not the motivation here. As one Visma staffer implied off the record, “We ride together so often we don’t need colour-coding.” And while coloured helmets have been used tactically on the track (like in Madison races), the Tour peloton is a different story – commercial exposure far outweighs intra-team communication.
The new normal?
Between national champion jerseys, Red Bull helmets, and sponsor-painted lids like Vingegaard’s, uniformity in the peloton is slipping – and that’s no bad thing. While some teams still insist on visual consistency, others are more open to rider individuality, particularly when big names bring big visibility.
As helmet design continues to evolve – both in shape and in purpose – expect to see more riders with special editions, especially when there’s a strong commercial incentive or a personal tie-in. For now, Vingegaard’s red and white lid is less about spotting your GC leader in the bunch and more about showing off a proud Danish partnership.
And if you’re wondering whether he pops into Bygma for screws in the off-season, we’re trying to find out.
Main photo credit: A.S.O./Tony Esnault
