Here's Mark Cavendish custom Nike Mercurial R9

Since when it made its debut a few months ago, the Nike Mercurial has been one of the most “busy” models on the market, as it got several colorways and special editions. One of those was the Nike iD Heritage collection, that homage some of the most iconic models used in the past editions of the World Cup, from 1998 to 2014. And after seeing them at the footballers’ feet in the last months, you should get ready to see them worn by another great sportsman… Mark Cavendish.

No, we didn’t lose our mind. Britain cyclist, that is currently a member of the Dimension Data Team, received a custom pair of Mercurial Vapor R9 from Nike. With an Instagram post, he explained the reason himself.

“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. I can tell you, 20 years on, to be actually working alongside @Nike with that same philosophy is a dream. The same at 33 years old as if I was 13 again.

Here’s the first #Superfly360 cycling shoe. Full #Flyknit construction. Comfortable and light. Built for pure speed in cycling like it is on the football pitch. For the color? Well, it had to be a throwback to those R9’s that started my obsession with @Nike 20 years ago.”

It’s not the first time that Cavendish asked Nike a football-inspired shoe, as a few months ago he already worn the Mercurial Superfly 360. This time, though, the level has been lifted up quite a bit and we can’t wait to see what the cyclist and the Swoosh have in mind for the future.