British cyclist Mark Cavendish has been hooked up with a custom pair of cycling shoes that mirror the 1998 Nike Mercurial football boots worn by Ronaldo at the 1998 World Cup. Perhaps the most iconic Mercurial design of all time, twenty years on, racing in the Tour de France.
Based on the silhouette of the Mercurial Superfly 360, Nike have transformed the boot design into an elite cycling shoe for Cavendish to wear while pedalling through nostalgia town. "20 years ago, during France 98, I saw Ronaldo wearing the first Mercurial. Immediately I wanted them. The R9’s. I was always a Nike fan. They did things differently. They weren’t afraid to change what was normal." At 33 years of age Cavendish gets his wish in a bespoke move of brilliance.
This isn't the first time Cavendish has asked Nike to create a football inspired cycling shoe. Earlier this year the Brit was wearing a Mercurial Superfly 360 design that mirrored the launch colourway of the new-generation boot. Lovely stuff. R9 on a bike. Football really is everywhere.
Good luck, Mark. If you take off your helmet at the finish line to reveal a triangle R9 haircut, you've won, whatever position you finish in.
