All sponsors get a note of thanks and it’s time to show some gratitude to Prendas Ciclismo for their support over the last month and beyond. Their ad has been here since the Vuelta a España, back in those days when Tom Dumoulin was seen as a time trial specialist.
Loyal readers will know the British bike shop already as they’ve had ads here before and sell the INRNG caps, armwarmers and jerseys.
If Prendas are new to you they specialise in clothing and have a range of stock including vintage and retro items including the GS Carpano jersey, as worn by Fausto Coppi and perhaps the inspiration for today’s MTN-Qhubeka jersey?
The Carpano team was created tosupport Coppi and was full of riders from the Piemonte region of Italy, the home to Coppi. Carpano was the original Vermouth, a drink of sweet wine and herbs, and from Turin, home to the Juventus football team that also plays in black and white stripes. To bring things full circle the region is the centre of the racing world this week with yesterday’s Milano-Torino race and today’s Gran Piemonte and before things shift north-east for Sunday’s Il Lombardia race.
Profits from the sale of kit are split between the shop and here so as well as buying some new kit you can help here too. If you haven’t shopped with them before, you’ll find Mick and Andy ready to help by phone or email and I’d offer more praise but when they’ve sponsored the blog before comments from satisfied customers said it better. Thanks to all those who’ve bought kit already, it’s nice to hear of fellow readers meeting up.
Some people have asked about a tip jar instead of kit, it’s still under review for the tech side but advertising support and the kit works well as people get something back in return.
Fantastic shop, with excellent customer service.
Thanks for sponsoring this fine blog.
And here was me thinking the MTN kit was a Brian Smith tribute to St Mirren!
It may be that Juventus were founded by a former St Mirren player, you never know.
Close: legend has it that Juve’s stripes were copied from Notts County.
I saw someone wearing a GS Carpano jersey on a hill climb at the weekend, almost certainly in breach of CTT rules, and now I know where it came from!
Just to clear up any misconceptions re the mighty St Mirren and Notts County, the GS Carpano jersey was in fact inspired by Juventus . Herbie Sykes gave us verse and chapter and he’s super well informed after his extensive research concerning the book below. Thanks Herbie.
Inspired by the Herbie Sykes book on Franco Balmamion ‘The Eagle of the Canavese’, who was the last Italian to win back-to-back Maglia Rosa’s in the Giro d`Italia. We love the monochrome imagery of this classic Juventus influenced cycle jersey.
The ‘Juve’ style was no accident as Vincenzo Giacotto the team manager was a big fan of that particular team. This did cause a bit of a stir as the people of Turin are split between being fans of ‘Juve’ or ‘Torino’.
In fact, The Turati family (the people who owned Carpano) also had another brand, the chocolatier Baratti & Milano and because the Carpano jersey was highly provocative (to say the least) they ran a second team in 1961, wearing the claret (or ‘granata’) coloured jerseys of Torino.
I live in Paris, and I’ve recently seen a few other riders around here also wearing INRNG caps. Thanks Prendas!
I learned about Prenda’s via this blog, and have since placed various orders from them. I am very pleased with the service as well as the selection of items at reasonable prices. My INRNG jersey is probably my favorite that I own; and I will shortly be getting more use of the excellent arm warmers due to falling temps.
My only complaint is a minor one with the caps: Compared to Prenda’s other caps the INRNG offerings are rather small, even the larger size. They are a bit shorter than the other caps, which may be an advantage for some but is worth noting. I would like to see an INRNG cap that has an identical fit to Prenda’s other caps, such as the ones with their own Prenda’s brand or the Campagnolo caps.
The difference in sizing is related to a different cap model being required to accommodate the centre print as there is no ribbon with that design to stitch onto a regular cap. Practically all of our of cap range features a ribbon which is applied to the standard cap design which is more spacious. We created a size L but can’t realistically go up another size to XL.
Sorry but that’s just the way it is.
Mick (Prendas)
Thanks for the info Mick; good to know. I prefer the standard cap fit but I do still enjoy the INRNG caps. I am currently awaiting a Liberty Seguros jersey (to check out an Exteondo item at a bargain price, as you suggested), as well as the Santini leg warmers. Looking forward to them; thanks again.
Have bought several INRNG caps from Prendas. Excellent price, quality and service.
Many thanks Prendas for supporting the most original and informative blog around.
If it were not for INRNG, I would not have heard about Prendas Ciclismo. I requested the INRNG jersey, (really) liked it and so requested socks, arm warmers and hat. Should have requested 2 pair of socks and all to begin with.
Actually, I take that back. At one time I was considering a Rocket espresso double boiler and noticed there were Rocket kits and thought that was very good. But went with Profitec 700 w/0 kit. Zzzzz
Thank You both.
+many for Prendas – my kit is almost entirely made up of their retro jerseys, plus super arm and knee warmers.
A guy complimented me on my INRNG cap in Richmond last week, and I returned the compliment on his.Prendas and this blog make a great team. Keep it up!
The Prendas guys are great! Someone at Richmond just loved the (old) ITALIA team polo shirt I was wearing, an item I think I got through Prendas as well as the SQUADRA CORSE ITALIA jacket I was sporting. Since I don’t need more stuff I eagerly await a DONATE function addition to the site. Meanwhile I’m bummed that there seems to be no TV coverage of Gran Piemonte, a race I saw live back in 2011.
http://cycleitalia.blogspot.com/2011/10/gran-piemonte-2011.html
Nothing stops you from buying something and donating the cap or jersey to others.
Pleased that the Italia leisure items have proved durable Larry. Winding the clock back a while there, reckon that they must be around 10 years vintage. We used to stock the Italia kit annually when made by Sportful and there were a few opportunities to purchase “dopo corsa” clothing when owning stuff like that was a big ask. Thanks for your kind words and continued support.
Small shout out for the socks as well. I’ve bought a few pairs they seem to come out of the wash better than many other sports socks.
I can personally recommend their Super Roubaix gloves. They’re just perfect.
The INRNG jersey is sweet. Great design with attention to detail!
Have bought numerous retro jerseys from them. The Brooklyn long sleeve is a particular favourite, along with the dadky defunct ADR one from 1989.
I cannot speak highly enough of Prendas & their warm friendly customer service. Its great to see them supporting this blog!