"Stuart Kirk walks from the production room to his desk among the graphics team. It’s a short journey to a different world. The noise of the machines is replaced by the near-silence in which Kirk and his colleagues on the graphics team manipulate logos and images to realise the design ambitions of hundreds of amateur clubs. Additionally, Kirk is responsible for the highest profile of all Endura’s custom commissions - the design of the Movistar Team jersey. The navy blue tunic with giant Movistar ‘M’ writ large across the chest and back in distinctive green is among the most recognisable in the peloton (and recently voted the classiest by readers of Cycling Weekly). “Everything is possible. Nothing is hard as long as we’re working together. I’ve had that feeling since I came here” - Asta Sarockiene, Sample Machinist Continuity is key to establishing a corporate identity, and while the parameters defined by Movistar are tight, each season Kirk creates original designs from established themes, like a blues guitarist honing some new riff from the most time-honoured scale. “Every year we come up with a handful of designs to present to them. Last year, four or five of the designs we presented were shortlisted, but ultimately it’s the sponsors who decide what they want. But it’s positive: the design has a classic look to it, which year-on-year becomes more recognisable.” “Year-on-year” is a phrase that crops up again, this time when Kirk describes the growing trust placed in his skill and ideas by the giant Spanish communications company and its parent, Telefónica. Endura’s relationship with Movistar Team is now in its fourth season, and a confidence in the quality of the garments now extends to the design. “It started off with quite strict guidelines: they were asking for logos to be moved or rotated even by a couple of millimetres, but a good relationship has developed from giving them kit that looks good, and year-on-year they’ve taken more advice. They’re good people to work with.” Kirk is calm and personable - two qualities that make him an ideal if not obvious candidate to assist each year with the Movistar Team fitting session in Pamplona. His colleague Michelle O’Connor, Endura’s head of garment technology, led the most recent session, and as a graduate of the London College of Fashion was well-qualified to do so. Kirk’s background, by contrast, lies in graphic design, and while O’Connor is very definitely in charge of the measuring of Bennati, Sutherland, Sütterlin et al, her colleague must call upon his natural sangfroid to cope with the business of fitting some of the world’s best cyclists. It’s a task that few would volunteer to perform, but Kirk adopts his role with characteristic calm. “People say that,” he says, laughing when I mention his relaxed manner with the riders. “It’s based on the belief that we have a really good product, which makes it easier. We’re not blagging it. We’re giving them the service they want at the end of the day, so in that sense, it’s quite easy. “In terms of being relaxed, I don’t get too starstruck, and having been to the Pamplona camp now for a couple of years has helped me to get quite comfortable. At meal times, you’re made to feel like part of the Movistar Team family, which helps.” It helps also that he has a passion both for cycling and for design. He confesses to following Instagram channels dedicated to cycle clothing, and to following hashtags from a natural interest in creative developments in the cycling sphere. “It’s a bit of a curse,” he says with a smile. When work is your passion, it can be difficult to step away from the day job, but this is not an unusual condition at Endura, where, for many, cycling is a way of life. Like Moodie, Kirk is a pro cycling devotee. His professional duties mean that even if he misses a race report, he is brought up to date by his ‘to do’ list. “It’s quite hard not to follow the sport, when you hear about a Movistar Team rider who has crashed, and needs new kit! You get updated that way, even if you haven’t seen the race.”